Dev Interviews, Throne of Thunder Bosses, Mod Recruitment, PAX East Party, Comic

[chaud]

Improvement of Item Affixes, More on Console vs PC, Fan Creation of the Week: Silk Art

Patch 5.2 Dev Interviews
Gamebreaker got yet another chance to interview devs, this time speaking with Ion Hazzikostas and Ghostcrawler. Guildox also had the opportunity to talk to Ion about what to expect in the Throne of Thunder.

Gamebreaker - Dungeons and Raids

• Large raid tiers have worked out well and will likely be continued in the future.
• Tier 14 had a few too many hard DPS checks on Normal difficulty, so in Tier 15 you should beat Normal difficulty by mastering the mechanics, not having a certain amount of DPS.
• The Throne of Thunder ended up linear because of the story being told. Future tiers may have a less linear path, similar to Blackwing Descent.
• Players aren't really interested in Patchwerk style fights, as it turns in to fighting a target dummy with some different visuals.
• Complex mechanics and a very strict DPS check might be too much for a Normal difficulty encounter, as most players can't flawlessly perform their rotations and avoid standing in the fire.
• LFR is supposed to be optional, mostly for players that don't raid with a regular group. The Throne of Thunder LFR gear is slightly better than the normal Tier 14 drops. LFR will have a staggered release schedule, so Normal difficulty raiders shouldn't feel any pressure to do LFR initially.
• Limited attempts is about stressing quality and not quantity of attempts. They were out of place in Normal difficulty Icecrown Citadel and the limit of ten was too low. It isn't expected that guild will have alts raids to try more attempts when working towards the World First kill.
• You have to be in combat with a LFR boss for a while to actually get the stacking buff, so there are measures in place that will discourage wiping to get stacks of the buff.
• There isn't a big concern about people tapping Nalak and then not fully participating in the fight, as this already happens with Sha of Anger. Oondasta is on the Isle of Giants, where there isn't enough player traffic for a player to just encounter a group fighting the boss by chance most likely.

Questing and Scenarios

• Daily quests were supposed to be something to do after you finished raiding or other activities, allowing you to progress your character by going out in the world. Players should have been able to not do daily quests if they were not interested, without hurting their group.
• The Patch 5.2 solo scenarios are used for storytelling, so you won't be able to run them more than once.
• More three player scenarios will be added in future patches.
• Blizzard is still figuring out how scenarios fit in to the game, as they haven't lived up to their full potential yet.

PvP

• Item upgrades returning hasn't been decided upon yet, but it is unlikely that it will come back for PvP gear. It felt good for players to be able to upgrade their blue gear and have a high enough item level to do heroic dungeons or LFR, but it didn't feel good trying to figure out how to spend your Valor Points. Partial refunds or transferring upgrades from one item to another are potential solutions. Item upgrades were helpful in allowing guilds to continue progressing by slowly making the players stronger.
• Reverting the silence and crowd control changes from early in the PTR was done to prevent healers from becoming too strong with the various instant heals they have. This kind of a change might be made in the next expansion.
• There aren't enough rewards for PvP that are not gear.
• The Conquest catch up system wasn't ready for this patch, but it will hopefully be in Patch 5.3.
• Skirmishes are still on the todo list.

Guildox

• Kicking turtles on the Tortos encounter and tracing constellations when fighting the Twin Consorts are two of the more interesting raid mechanics in Throne of Thunder.
• Guilds that aren't done with Heart of Fear and Terrace of Endless Spring are likely going to run into difficulty keeping up with the fights much past Council of Elders (the third encounter).
• No fights are designed to need three tanks this time around.
• The Tier 14 progression might have taken longer than you would expect without gating, as the world first kills were often seconds away from being a wipe. The extra weeks allowed players to gear up more than they would have been able to otherwise.

Throne of Thunder Preview
Get ready to down the new bosses by reading the encounter journal and watching guides!

MMO-Champion Forums Moderator Recruitment
Good news everyone! We're recruiting moderators for the forums again! The amount of users and posts keeps increasing and we reached the point where we need some help before the trolls take over and play Whack-a-Mod in the Darkmoon Faire. I know it sounds fun, but I'm going to assume we don't want that.

Please be sure to read the entire post before applying!

Blue Tweets

Classes
Folks, simulated DPS is not DPS. Please don't use it as evidence. We're not going to take it seriously. (Source)
Okay if simulated DPS isn't true how do you then chose how to buff or nerf specs? Do you "wing it" and hope it works? BS talk!
Our DPS isn't simulated. But there will always be some guess work because we can't predict perfectly what players will do. (Source)
Okay follow up question to that, how do you "find" classes or specs that aren't "where you want" if you don't rely on logs?
If statistics were easy the world wouldn't need statisticians. (Source)
So that's confirmed then? you balance around how much a class/spec is represented instead of performance? Fishing for answers!
We look at representation for sure, but that can be driven by a lot of things: class kit, art, tradition. (Source)
so do you look at class rep success rates/percentages. Popularity and success are not equal
Both popularity and efficacy are data points. There is a correlation but not often a strong one. (Source)

Every class/spec is viable. Not every class/spec is top for their role. Community too hung up on "the best spec/class".
Agree. (Source)

Hey homie, any chance for certain specs to get some love with the meta? Ele/Destro etc? Crazy some get near 8% and others ~1%.
We are still tweaking those gems. Agree that Ele doesn't benefit enough yet. (Source)

Hunter (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
..shale spider for BM vs crane for MM. Damage buffs were great but bridging the gap between BM's and MM's utility could help
We buffed Chim Shot's healing (which I forgot to mention). It's not group utility per se, but is a thing BM / SV don't have. (Source)
your argu to nerf silance shot was removing blanket silance , then u revert blanket again but silance shot is still 24 sec cd
Hunters don't need any PvP buffs IMO. Worried they are trending too good in 5.2. (Source)

If movement does not challenge a hunter in pve now - what can? Tired of the hunter blowing away other ranged when we move.
Yet, they aren't winning meters overall are they? The game is better IMO when everyone has strengths and weaknesses. (Source)

really!!!! Dismiss Pet now has a 3 sec cast time, up from 2. prof you use a dart board to decide what to buff/nerff /facepalm
It is dumb to dismiss pets in PvP in order to get a different CC DR. You'll barely notice in PvE. (Source)

Mage (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
Just making sure, you ARE aware that Mages bring nothing but DPS, right? Making us middle = making us get sat. Please fix?
Under that argument who doesn't get sat? Tanks and healers? Is this a hybrid tax deal? (Source)
All I'm saying is there's NO POINT to bring a Mage over a Warlock on the current PTR. Is that fair? I sure don't think so.
Raidbots (to use a site you can access) suggests 79K locks and 84K mages in 10H. Let's see if that ratio changes much in 5.2. (Source)
GC, I respect you a ton, but please tell me you didn't just compare LIVE ARCANE to LIVE AFFLICTION...
We can't compare the 5.2 pops yet. I'm just citing a "before" so we can see what the "after" looks like in a couple of months. (Source)

Mage gets deep buff(no glyph)+frost dmg buff, keeps 4s ImpCS. Minor nerf to pom ring, sheep anyone? CS>SS Mr Crab
You have to interrupt to keep the 4s CS, and the bomb detonation nerf is major. (Source)
Granted on the bomb nerf, though many mages already use tempest instead. I was refering to the 4s silence, not cd redux :3
Fair enough. The duration is the same. The cooldown will often be longer. (Source)

Is it the shield only or the damage portion of Incanter's Ward that can be dispelled, or both? Thanks.
Both IIRC. (Source)

Monk (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
Why did you increase surging mist mana cost by 10%? The whole mistweaver community is clueless and angry, please explain
With numbers, we have to include how players perform and not just how they feel. (Source)

Paladin (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
Ret is much less viable at high ratings? % of players in glad range is much lower than any other spec/class
It is really hard to isolate the effects of paladins who just go Holy because heals are always good and Holy is a little imba. (Source)
The ratio of high rated Rets to total Rets is very low. This proves Rets are weak.
Or that Holy is so OP that any sane paladin goes Holy. Analysis is never that simple or we would have solved all this long ago. (Source)
I PVP as a holy paladin and I agree. We've always been a defensive class. It was a mistake to give us so much CC.
But nobody used Holy before because they had no offensive pressure. They do now and they're popular. Just a bit OP. (Source)

Healing is a completely different role in arena. One does not simply switch from Ret for the first time and be 2200+ at Holy.
Of course not. But how many players have heard "No room for Ret - we'll take you if you swap to heals?" Happens all the time. (Source)

Priest (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
Do you really think shadow priests are in a good position PVE wise ?? They are rly weak in both actual fights and theory craft
I can't vouch for the theorycraft. Do you have any 5.2 logs? (Source)
I'll post raid logs soon. But this is what we still look like single-target. http://t.co/rEXKEv9nyg
Stack ranks of simulation DPS are generally worthless. We have no way to know if each component is built with equal skill. (Source)

Shaman (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
Thoughts on Ele/Enh gettings totems back while blanketed? The nerf was class wide when aimed at Resto only, pretty careless...
I've said before that we didn't like it for any shaman. Not okay for a weakish PvP spec to be annoying. That affects everyone. (Source)
Seriously offended by this.We pour our blood sweat and tears into Enhance PvP and all we get is "weakish PvP spec is annoying"
I was making a philosophical point, not a shaman point. The argument was "we need this broken thing in order to be viable." (Source)
it wasnt broken, it was unique. Remove blink too gc, mechanically its retarded to have short cd trinket.
Broken vs. unique is subjective, which is why we make the calls instead of leaving it up to the community. (Source)

dont you think druid shapeshifting is also broken, if totems were? why double standards?
Mechanics working different isn't double standards. It's mechanics working differently. (Source)

Warlock (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
A big problem with locks and pets is that for aff/destro pets don't scale with mastery, which is the best stat for both specs.
That's not really a problem except for talents that let you opt out of having a pet. (Source)
do you think sacrifice was a mistake? i personally didnt want to play a warlock till i heard of that talent.
It's asking 2 questions at once: want DPS? Want a pet? (Source)
If you want your pet but Sac is more DPS you feel like you have to lose your pet. (Source)
ie: Sac DPS bonus should equal Pet DPS, so it's a choice of style rather than substance.
Or even a DPS loss since it's a convenience plus. (Source)
So you're basically admitting that pets are inconvenient? Wouldn't the better design be one that makes them worth having?
Pets are something you have to manage, like embers or cps or mana. Is the game more fun if we remove every such inconvenience? (Source)
lol. managing a pet is cool, but maybe DPS buffs (protectors) should affect them so many fights aren't "blizzard hates pets"
Pets are largely immune to raid damage. They have limitations on some fights, but aren't that big a deal to manage IMO. (Source)
"Pet's are something you have to manage" - GC and "[pets] aren't that big a deal to manage IMO" - GC WTF?
What are you trying to lawyer here? Yes, you have to manage pets. No, it's not rocket surgery to do so. (Source)

Warrior (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
instead of each patch making execute more and more like cata y not just nerf the meta for warriors? instead of gimping for pvp
We looked at the meta, but DPS was still too high. Execute will still be great in PvP. (Source)

Why did Rampage ever got removed from fury warriors? In 10m it's often problematic, same for CM's where we lack buffs.
Feels to me like DPS warriors bring a ton of group utility these days. (Source)

Fury generates more rage in Defensive Stance than Arms. So which one is broken?
Def Stance isn't supposed to be illegal. You should just prefer Battle to max DPS. (Source)

I dont understand, Why do you keep making nerfs that effect prot warriors, we are the lowest DPS tanks by over 10k in parses
Which specifically? Execute? Won't that be like a 2% need for Prot? (Source)
Exec, SS and Revenge. The change with SS/Rev are good for offtanking though, but we still dps less than other tank classes.
SS / Revenge should help with MT'ing too. Why do you think DPS is still low? (Source)
just look at the logs, we are bottom of the dps. just critted for 3m on elegon and my dps still under the dk tank
They are a little low in 5.1 but that's why we buffed them. (Source)

OpenRaid - Weekend Event Update
If you are looking for something fun to do this weekend, Openraid is holding three raiding events (US-Horde/Alliance) with Q&A at the end. We have a late addition with Midwinter, the #1 US Alliance guild. This way both factions have someone to run with!

• Slootbag from Midwinter (BT / Sunwell)
• Affinitii from Blood Legion (H ICC25)
• AskMrRobot Staff (Naxx 25)

Curse's WildStar PAX East After Party
If you are going to be at PAX East, you are invited to the WildStar PAX East After Party! There will be live music, a premium bar (with 2 drinks on the house), a loot bag, a red carpet style photo opportunity, as well as stations set up where you can try out the WildStar beta!

The best part? It's completely free! All you have to do is RSVP to receive your ticket.

The Daily Blink - Mingling with the Commonfolk
The Daily Blink has a recap of how Battlegrounds with the Blues went.

[belal143]

I get a chance to learn some new things.I think it's very informative post.
Thanks

[Inpain]

Awesome!

[Nerraw]

That Daily Blink is awesome.

[Faithshield]

Its funny how some classes have a reputation for being good DPS/good PvP, and so when they are not performing well there is a huge storm. Yet other classes which have a rep for being weak, such as shaman, find it hard to garner any attention because people just accept the status quo as norm, even devs it seems if you look at GC's enhancement tweets.

[Jin84]

Lol great blink

[Ferrouswheel]

Two horrible unfunny daily blinks in a row. Good job.

[Dotmore]

LFR is supposed to be optional, mostly for players that don't raid with a regular group. The Throne of Thunder LFR gear is slightly better than the normal Tier 14 drops

AFAIK, Throne of Thunder LFR gear is better/pretty much equal then HC T14 gear? (Ilvl 502 in LFR)

[Summerdrake]

Gief battlesaur

[lyxx]

Two horrible unfunny daily blinks in a row. Good job.

You should really step down from your fanboy pedestal becouse it's really kind of funny.

[Othraerir]

You should really step down from your fanboy pedestal becouse it's really kind of funny.

nah it's not funny at all...

[Ferrouswheel]

You should really step down from your fanboy pedestal becouse it's really kind of funny.

Do you know what fanboy means? I'm not a fan of something...

[hamsterbom]

Do you know what fanboy means? I'm not a fan of something...

Is your avater an accurate representation of your self? I think it is. :s

[Dasn]

You should really step down from your fanboy pedestal becouse it's really kind of funny.

but he's right

[Ferrouswheel]

Is your avater an accurate representation of your self? I think it is. :s

Well it's a picture of me. And yes I'm usually grumpy.

[Reyzzz]

You should really step down from your fanboy pedestal becouse it's really kind of funny.

He was right.

[det]

Priceless - a long informative newspost and we bicker about somebody who thinks the DB isn't funny.

Then again, Ferrouswheel - there is a site, that is totally free and optional. Whose maintainence and existence doesn't tangent you at all. They attempt some WoW humour. Now..we all know that you either find something funny or not. Hell..lots of ppl don't get Monty Python for example.

Why so serious? In fact why so downright sour and negative about it? "Two horrible unfunny daily blinks in a row. Good job." - Are you PAYING them to comment on a "job" badly done? Or is that the internet? Everybody is a judge even if he can't do any better? I think this is a case of "If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all"

[dokhidamo]

Dat Bashiok.

[gorocz]

Players aren't really interested in Patchwerk style fights, as it turns in to fighting a target dummy with some different visuals.

I am interested in Patchwerk style fights. I am a player. Thus, a statement that players aren't interested in them is false. (just wanted to mention that)

[Rutger]

AFAIK, Throne of Thunder LFR gear is better/pretty much equal then HC T14 gear? (Ilvl 502 in LFR)

Mogu'shan Vaults HC is iLvl 502, too.
Heart of Fear and Terrace HC are 509.

And the item upgrade feature has been around for some time, updated HoF/Terrace normal is iLvl 504

So the most from here will only need LFR for the set bonus, reputation and the legendary quest items