Armory Stats - Heroic SoO Progression, Blizzard CS Callback, Blue Tweets, Fan Art

[chaud]

Announcing Callback Support, Diablo III: Storm of Light Excerpt, Blue Posts

Season 2 Begins on January 9, Hearthstone Beta Opt-In Account Access, Blue Tweets

Armory Stats - Heroic Siege of Orgrimmar Progression
Today we are taking a look at the Heroic Siege of Orgrimmar progression of players. Now that achievements are account wide, we can group characters by account and get an idea of what percentage of players (not characters) have defeated a boss on Heroic difficulty at least once, based on earning the achievement.

The data used today is a sample made up of 6.2 million characters from 2.2 million accounts, with at least one character active after November 26. The sample is slightly biased, as players who are not in a guild are much less likely to appear in our sample. You can leave suggestions for future stat posts in the comments!

Don't see a chart? Enable javascript!

Blizzard CS - Callback Support

On Thursday, January 9, Blizzard is launching a new callback-based system for players who need phone support. This is a big change from our traditional phone support, so we wanted to provide some details about this service.

How will the callback system work?
Instead of calling a number (and potentially waiting on hold) for support, you’ll use the support site on Battle.net to set up a callback. Just enter information about your issue, along with your phone number, and a Game Master will give you a call back!

How will the callback system benefit me as a player?
You won’t have to navigate a phone menu or spend time on hold. Since the support site collects critical details in advance (like the answer to your security question), you’ll jump directly into problem solving.

What will happen to Blizzard Customer Support’s existing phone numbers after this change?
Our phone lines will no longer present their current menu system, and will instead play a brief message directing users to the support site.

We hope you enjoy using the new service to get help when you need it!

Blue Tweets

Classes
I like the current tank system. Gathering resources and use them wisely for defense. Would tank also keep this system in WOD?
Yep, you're describing the Active Mitigation concept, which we think was quite successful, and want to continue and improve upon. (Source)

Safeguard, Hand of Sac, etc. are neat tricks that let me save lives even when I'm not in front of the dragon.
Tools like that are fun, agreed. We also hope to significantly reduce the amount of time that tanks spend not-tanking. (Source)

Would help if fights weren't just "taunt at X debuffs" so the second tank didn't feel like a vestigial organ.
We 100% agree. (Source)

Hunter (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
any chance hunters will be getting new skin or species for spell haste? Asked for sporebat all the time & it creeps me out
Maybe, in a new family. There are (almost) dupe fams already (so precedence!), and with new beasts showing up all the time... (Source)

Oh and gyreworms! Elemental sure, but clearly bestial in spirit! They'd fit easy in the worm family!
They would. That said, I'm unhappy with the obviously-Elemental stuff that has already been classified as Beast. But that's just me! (Source)
Well since survival is already pretty heavily elemental, maybe make the bestial elementals short term summons for that spec?
I'm all for special pet groups (undead, mechanical, elemental etc.) w/ appropriate conditions. But shale spider = beast?! OH COME ON (Source)
Let me ask from a different angle. Why does it "have" to make sense as a beast for a hunter to befriend it?
For the same reason priests can't use swords: BECAUSE REASONS. But seriously, it's a flavor/fantasy thing. Less logic, more feels. (Source)
I don't think it's quite on par with priests with swords. Hunters tame wild creatures as companions to fight alongside them.
Both are 100% shenanigans; arbitrary rules made to create a certain feel/fantasy/design. There's no reasoning them out beyond that. (Source)
Arbitrary means there was no thought put into it. I give you guys more credit than that.
The "reasoning" is arbitrary: Because they were never trained/their religion forbids it/the monarchy outlawed an armed church/etc. (Source)
The original design/fantasy is intentional, but can't be debated on the basis of its (later) made-up rules; it's working backwards! (Source)

Talbuks NEED to be tameable! Especially in WoD! The fact that they aren't, but goats are, makes me sad
Been years of talks/jokes about an Ungulate (or?) family including rams, goats, talbuks etc. Maybe! (Source)

With or Without You seems like a playstyle choice for MM/Surv hunters rather than a perk. Chance to see it below level 100?
I hope so, but that's me personally. I've always been VERY against game-changers end-game (e.g. original Arcane Blast). (Source)

Monk (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
Quick Monk Question, do MW monks count as Melee right now, or will that only be in WoD?
Yes, they do. (Source)
Any chance of that being extended to other healing specs to avoid an unfair advantage? All healers benefit from being in melee
Unlikely. It's a perk we give to specs intended to be in melee, not an unfair advantage. (Source)
It just feels like something that should be either all healers or none rather than allowing some to ignore mechanics.
There are mechanics that they would have to handle that you don't; a tradeoff for Fistweavers. Just a perk for MW, which is fine. (Source)
But MW aren't required to be in melee to be effective. They could stand at ranged and ignore both melee and ranged mechanics
That's why I said "Just a perk for MW, which is fine." Every difference between classes isn't an "unfair advantage". (Source)

The more I think about it, the less it seems like Statue of the Jade Serpent adds any real gameplay value. Thoughts?
It does a bit for Fistweaving, but is fairly passive otherwise. Doesn't necessarily need to be involved gameplay. (Source)
Do you think it would be more interesting with a shorter radius?
I think many Mistweavers would say that its radius is already short feeling. But, as a gameplay element to be handled, possibly. (Source)

is it possible that maybe we can see fistweavers being able to dual wield in WoD? It would be really awesome imo
Cool look / feel, but that would necessitate all Mistweavers that want to even dabble in Fistweaving to get a second weapon. (Source)
Use "way of the monk"? Doable but possibly not worth the effort; WotM never properly balanced for WW, who all DW.
Another community misconception. Way of the Monk does balance DW vs 2H for Brewmaster and Windwalker, extremely closely. (Source)

MW relies too much on smart heals. MW would be even better if players would have more direct control.
We agree, and think that statement applies to all healers, not just MW. (Source)

I woulf never use AoC on my monk. It onle affects 1 dps ability for us that most monks use sparsely. I use haromms and
WW currently have a couple viable gearing methods. If you are haste stacking, AoC won't likely be optimal for you. That's OK. (Source)

Warrior (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
Will Gladiator be a potential tank stance, or will it have some component to make it purely for dps (e.g., no crit protection)?
We may have a defensive benefit if you take the talent but don't use the stance, so that tanks still have 3 talent choices. (Source)
But if you're using the stancing, getting the DPS benefit, you will not be able to be a full tank. (Source)
So a Prot Warrior can potentially behave like an old Bear-Cat?
No. You can't switch in and out of Gladiator Stance in combat. It's a commitment. (Source)

So Extreme Measures would give Glad Stance to prot who want to DPS, and a stance for DPS wars who want to tank w/2h weps?
Tanks need relatively little in order to function as DPS. But DPS need a lot in order to function as Tanks. (Source)

Any chance we can remove the two stacks of Shield Block and make Shield block 6 sec CD? Would be no different than right now...
That would be extremely different from how it is now, and remove most of the skill involved. (Source)

Arms warriors already have multistrike. It's called mastery. Mimicking other classes is uninspired design.
Similar, but some difference: [100% WD] vs [30% of the triggering attack]. (Source)
Wow, when did mastery get its effectiveness literally doubled and why did nobody tell me?
Oh, apologies. Was out to dinner and forgot that its damage had gone down. Yeah, still 55% WD, not 100%. Point is it's static. (Source)

Art
Are darker nights still on the table? lighting changes everything.
It's ultimately an art call, with input from design if they feel gameplay is negatively impacted. Personally, I liked it dark. (Source)
Maybe a dumb question, but wouldn't it be possibly to just add is an option? Whether you want dark or not?
With new tech, IF they wanted to. Lighting isn't on-the-fly; it's data built into the maps like terrain & skyboxes. (Source)

Are Blood Elves and Draenei being updated? I only see vanilla races on that page
the plan is currently to update them as well, original plan of "vanilla only" changed, need to update page to reflect (Source)

Any chance the Belf models look like Nozdormu's model in Dragon Soul and in the cinematic at the end of the raid??!
Facial hair and tats like that might come later if we're able to make another customization pass. Norz = good place to start (Source)

Character / Items
can older Eng. Trinkets be added? id like to use the Gnomish ShrinkRay or older stuff without swapping Trinks?
I wished those got updated too. Possibly gameplay issues. Lots of (cool) old items effects are "never do again plz." (Source)
didn't think shrinking a target and losing a very tiny bit of AP would be that much of an issue for an item a level 1 can wear
I meant all of them, and "updated" as in new versions that were viable trinkets, which I think could be cooler than simple toys. (Source)

What will happen to legendary meta in wod? 30% haste still sounds better than regular meta's imo
Yeah, legendary meta unusable at level 100. (Source)

Fan Art
Today we have some audio that comes in two versions, one with the violin and one with vocals.

[moveth]

Callback system is a huge leap forward in customer support for Blizzard.

[Popbubblz]

Love the callback service, I've used it twice, first time took about 14 hours to call back, but that was over New Years, the second time it was less than a minute. Best idea every and really works.

[atrixx]

I've been pushing Peter Hollens to do some WOW music for months now. Glad he finally got around to it. Love his work.

[Raeion]

loved the Medley , was fantastic

[medievalman1]

Peter Hollens FTW, always impressed with what he does.

[|Dexter|]

Callback system is nice for people in the USA! But for people outside not so much....

[Azerox]

This is a huge leap foreward?

Its just plain retarted, im in the customer center service as a manager for a long time and this is the worse way you can support your customers.

So now i have a problem with the faction change + race change bug that i took a name and is now flagged.

So i need support, lets call blizzard .. oh wait not enabled anymore .. make a ticket .. what 5 days????

So now i need to wait for some lazy ass Blizzard employee to call me back some day?

Just plain stupid.

[lanceb]

the youtube links isnt even loading for me for some reason, keep getting "an error occured, try again later..

[voskopoula]

The medley vocal version is so awesome

[wobbrocker]

This is a huge leap foreward?

Its just plain retarted, im in the customer center service as a manager for a long time and this is the worse way you can support your customers.

So now i have a problem with the faction change + race change bug that i took a name and is now flagged.

So i need support, lets call blizzard .. oh wait not enabled anymore .. make a ticket .. what 5 days????

So now i need to wait for some lazy ass Blizzard employee to call me back some day?

Just plain stupid.

Yaaaaaaa I am gonna call BS on you being a manager in a CCS if you don't even know how the callback system works. Here let me give you a tip, the system registers the callback and then monitors how many agents are currently on/off calls. Once the call volume reaches an acceptable level, the system will then call the customer on the callback number that was provided and then route that call to an available agent at the same time. The agents are not physically calling you back.

[Ayasu]

This is a huge leap foreward?

Its just plain retarted, im in the customer center service as a manager for a long time and this is the worse way you can support your customers.

So now i have a problem with the faction change + race change bug that i took a name and is now flagged.

So i need support, lets call blizzard .. oh wait not enabled anymore .. make a ticket .. what 5 days????

So now i need to wait for some lazy ass Blizzard employee to call me back some day?

Just plain stupid.

I don't think you understand how it works. I've used it myself, and it doesn't seem to dump callbacks into the same bunch as normal tickets. Got a call back today in about 15-20 min. 15-20 min of doing something else that's not holding a phone to my ear listening to hold music? Sold.

Read the comments above yours -- obviously they're positive. Don't jump the gun on how "terrible" something is without giving it a go, or understanding how it works.

(Also, for the flagged name thing, if you change the name and ticket in, they'll still fix it back -- had this happen to my main a few months ago. >.>)

[Spoir]

I've been pushing Peter Hollens to do some WOW music for months now. Glad he finally got around to it. Love his work.

I wish he did this one with Lindsey Stirling again, loved their Skryim one. The violinist isn't bad at all though!

[atrixx]

This is a huge leap foreward?

Its just plain retarted, im in the customer center service as a manager for a long time and this is the worse way you can support your customers.

So now i have a problem with the faction change + race change bug that i took a name and is now flagged.

So i need support, lets call blizzard .. oh wait not enabled anymore .. make a ticket .. what 5 days????

So now i need to wait for some lazy ass Blizzard employee to call me back some day?

Just plain stupid.

Umm, what? Exactly what experience do you have?

I've deployed the Oracle Contact Center, Avaya, and a few other contact center systems and from your description, you clearly have no idea how they work. Offering call back service instead of having someone wait in queue isn't bad. If you've ever used EBay, this is how their system is setup and they give an advisory on how long the wait time is. Most major companies give you the ability to enter the callback system if you don't want to wait. To me, that is better customer service.

The process isn't that difficult. Since it appears their inbound call options will go away, every callback request is going to go into a queue and autopop into the CSR's system when it is that person's turn. The system is fully automated and there isn't an issue of a Blizzard employee choosing to call you back or not.

I would hope someone with a claim as being a leader for a customer service operation would show a better understanding of the role they are in. My point of view is from 15 years of contact center operations managements, including owning a center that provided third-party solutions to IT companies and their end-users.

[Oxyra]

Question is, how does callback work if you're calling internationally, or via Skype.

Normally I'd call Blizz number on Skype because it's a free call number in the US, but not free call if you call via international.

[atrixx]

I wish he did this one with Lindsey Stirling again, loved their Skryim one. The violinist isn't bad at all though!

This one wasn't bad. I'm still pressing/requesting to get an Arthas/Invincible medley which I think would just sound amazingly - especially combining all 3 or 4 variations from WC3 to end of Wrath versions.

- - - Updated - - -

Question is, how does callback work if you're calling internationally, or via Skype.

Normally I'd call Blizz number on Skype because it's a free call number in the US, but not free call if you call via international.

Well the callback isn't going to have any impact on your when it comes to toll calling. The expense is all on the part of Blizzard at this point. So it will just come down to if you have a number to receive the call back. Of course, they may have a different process in place when dealing with international customers.

[Deleted]

Wer da new models at?!?!?!

[Airwaves]

Why they still bother to put the time into making heroic raids I have no idea. The % of people doing them is just going down and down.

[Keristrasza]

*Squee* I love Peter Hollens, I just wish Lindsey Stirling had been with him. This other girl is good, but I still prefer Lindsey.

[Popbubblz]

I am in New Zealand and it works amazingly well, like I already said I got a callback in about a minute

Callback system is nice for people in the USA! But for people outside not so much....