Thread: 2.4.2 Undocumented changes, Blue posts

Update #2 (05:00PM CEST) - DoT Powerleveling nerf confirmed.
Update #1 (10:50AM CEST) - Added changes to the Archimonde encounter, layout of the undocumented changes list modified for a better readability.

The patch 2.4.2 deployment is behind us, it's time to talk about everything that happened since the beginning of the week.

2.4.2 Undocumented changes
The patch 2.4.2 had a few undocumented changes, newest additions from the Live patch have been added to the top of each category. This post will probably be updated multiple times today

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment

Hunter

• Scare beast isn't instant and still have its 1.5sec cast time, even if the tooltip still says "Instant" this is an intended change and the tooltip will be reverted back to 1.5 sec in a later patch. (Source + Explanation)
• There is still a bug with Growl that is allowing it to scale with some pet attack power buffs as well as the hunter's attack power. This will be fixed in a future patch, until then enjoy the extra threat from these buffs. (Source)
  

Spells

• Bloodfury, Bloodlust Brooch, Bloodrage and Berserker Rage all use Bloodlust's sound effect now. Most of these changes are intended. (Source)
  

Raids & Dungeons
Hyjal Summit - Archimonde (Possibly bugged)

• Fire will now spawn -much- closer to Archimonde, and the pathing is entirely random.
• Fire can target and chase Melee. Never possible pre 2.4.2.
• Archimonde's hit box size has been increased
• MT's are now able to be targetted by Air Burst.
  

Quests changes

• The Quest "The Multiphase Survey", where you retrieve surveys from Nagrand, no longer gives a [item=35232].
  

Professions

• If you did a Void Shatter before the patch, you will have to wait for the end of the cooldown before you can do "cooldown-free" transmutations. (This isn't really a bug actually, but it will probably save a few questions)
  

Powerleveling

• According to a few reports, you cannot powerlevel anymore by DOTing mobs with a level 70 player and leaving the instance before they die. The XP of each mob has been greatly lowered.
  

Items

• [item=37864] and [item=37865] are already available for 40 000 from the honor vendors and you won't have to wait for the beginning of Season 4.
• [item=28234] and [item=28239] price has been lowered to 8 000
• The proc for [item=34472] has been renamed to "Disdain" instead of "Heroism".
• [item=34429] has been fixed and now affects the caster only.
• Caster weapons were not changed from Main-hand to One-hand intentionally. (Source)
• Naturalist's Preserving Cinch and Borderland Fortress Grips have been upgraded.
• [item=19169] now has a chance to fail for targets above level 60
• [item=19955] now grants 70 (instead of 400) spell haste rating, and reduces the mana cost of Rejuvenation, Healing Touch, Regrowth, and Tranquility by -5% for 15 seconds. (Screenshot)
• [item=19958] now grants 70 (instead of 400) spell haste rating and reduces the mana cost of your healing spells by -5% for 15 seconds. (Screenshot)
• [item=19954] energy bonus is now reduced by 4 points by level after level 60, lowering the energy bonus to 20 at level 70 instead of 40. (Screenshot)

Zul'aman Bear Mount "removed" in WotLK

Originally Posted by Tigole (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

I wanted to give a very early head's up to all of you Zul'Aman raiders out there:

Once Wrath of the Lich King goes live, you will no longer be able to obtain the Zul'Aman bear mount by saving all 4 prisoners in the timed run. The Bear Mount will be replaced by a very good, epic item that is level appropriate for people doing the zone. To be clear, the Zul'Aman bear mount is supposed to be an item of very high prestige. We want players who have earned it during the appropriate era (aka before the level cap gets raised) to be recognized for their accomplishment. We have absolutely no problem with higher level players (above level 70) going back and doing Zul'Aman after Wrath of the Lich King is live. We just want to preserve the accomplishment of having saved all 4 prisoners at the intended difficulty level.

We will most likely do something similar with the titles "Hand of A'dal" and "Champion of the Naaru" as well.

Please don't panic! You still have plenty of time to complete these feats! Wrath of the Lich King is coming along great but is not ready yet! In fact, we're not even in beta yet! So have fun adventuring for your bears and titles but please consider this your early warning.

And when someone asked if it would be possible to get another bear-type mount in WotLK ...
[blizzquote="Tigole;http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=6417163760&sid=1&pageNo=3#44]Polar Bear sound cool? [/blizzquote"]


M'uru encounter changes

Originally Posted by Daelo (Blue Tracker)

We've changed the Negative Energy spells cast by M'uru and Entropius to no longer cause spell interruption on the target. This should ease the frustration of the encounter for those casting classes who can not obtain 100% resistance to spell interruption through talents and effects such as Concentration Aura.

This change is live immediately on the US realms, and realms in other regions will receive this change with the deployment of the 2.4.2 patch.

HTML Code:

<a name="wotlknexus"></a>

WotLK - The Nexus

Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker)

The blue Dragon Aspect, Malygos, was charged ages ago by the titans as the guardian of magic. More than ten millennia ago, he watched in horror as Deathwing all but wiped out the blue flight. Maddened by grief, Malygos withdrew to his lair and paid little heed to the rest of the world, emerging only when it finally seemed possible to avenge Deathwing's terrible crime.

Only in recent times did Malygos fully return to his senses. Upon reviving, he quickly assessed the state of magical affairs in Azeroth and reached the grim conclusion that magic was running amok throughout the world. He blamed this dangerous development on the mortal races and their reckless pursuit of magical power.

HTML Code:

<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="506" height="285" data="http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1010419&server=www.vimeo.com&fullscreen=1&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=">	<param name="quality" value="best" />	<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" />	<param name="scale" value="showAll" />	<param name="movie" value="http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1010419&server=www.vimeo.com&fullscreen=1&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=" /></object>

Determined to forestall a catastrophe, Malygos decreed that the world's unbridled magic must be reined in by any means necessary. And so the great Aspect turned to the Arcanomicon, a map of the world's ley lines. Gifted to Malygos ages ago by the titan Norgannon, the Arcanomicon has been continuously updated and revised by the blue dragons over the long years of Malygos's seclusion.

Now Malygos uses the Arcanomicon to locate and tap into the ley lines, diverting the magical powers that course beneath the earth to his home base in Northrend, the Nexus. Once harnessed, the energies are focused through the Nexus' ascending rings and blasted into the Twisting Nether. Malygos's redirection of the ley lines has carried disastrous consequences, however, splintering the world's crust and opening unstable rifts: tears in the very fabric of the magical dimension.

Malygos' siphoning of the world's magic has not gone unnoticed by the mortal races. The weakening members of the Kirin Tor, the elite magi of Dalaran, have sworn to fight Malygos to the bitter end. In fact, the magi have used their waning powers to transfer the entire city of Dalaran to float above Northrend. From this vantage point, the magi prepare for the next step in their battle against the Lich King, and for the inevitable confrontation with Malygos.

However, not all of the Kirin Tor stand united. Several members have opted to side with the blue dragonflight in the hopes of retaining power. Transformed and bolstered by Malygos, these mage hunters are tasked with rooting out and, if necessary, destroying magical artifacts; killing or imprisoning individuals who practice magic without Malygos' permission; and aiding in the redirection of ley lines using massive constructs called surge needles.

The blue dragonflight's increasingly militaristic methods have been condemned by the red dragonflight. Charged with the preservation of life, the red dragonflight has vowed to neutralize Malygos at all costs. To this end, they have formed a council with the Kirin Tor, and the two groups have begun actively subverting Malygos's devastating campaign.

The sides have been chosen; the battle lines have been drawn. The only question that remains now is...

Who will win?

Blizzcon 2008 on October 10th and 11th in Anaheim
I couldn't post the full press release 2 days ago because of the patch, so here it is.

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment

-- Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced plans for its third BlizzCon™ gaming convention, to be held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California on October 10 and 11. BlizzCon is a celebration of the global player communities surrounding Blizzard Entertainment®'s Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises. In response to the demand to accommodate more attendees, this year's event has expanded from two convention halls to three.

"Whenever we've been able to meet and interact with Blizzard gamers from around the world, it's been a great experience for us," stated Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We're looking forward to seeing even more of our players at this year's BlizzCon and delivering another entertaining and informative event for them."

BlizzCon will offer a wide variety of activities to help all attendees get the most out of the two-day event. In addition to serving as a gathering place for the different Blizzard Entertainment gaming communities, attendees will be able to enjoy:

• Hands-on play time with upcoming Blizzard Entertainment releases
• Discussion panels with Blizzard Entertainment developers
• Competitive and casual tournaments for players to showcase their talents
• Areas and activities devoted to licensed products such as the World of Warcraft® Trading Card Game
• Costume, machinima, and character sound-alike contests with great prizes
• Commemorative merchandise based on the Blizzard Entertainment franchises
• A silent auction
• More exciting activities to be announced
  

Tickets for BlizzCon will go on sale in the next few weeks at a price of $100 USD per person. As the event draws closer, further details will be announced on the official BlizzCon website: www.blizzcon.com.

The new Dark Legacy is very funny (like the others )

http://www.darklegacycomics.com/

I guess my feral friend did not cry in vain, at least he will be happy today

[item=37864] and [item=37865] are already available for 40 000 from the honor vendors and you won't have to wait for the beginning of Season 4.

Nice, finally something to waste my 75k honor on. Since season 4 seems to be never arriving, I welcome this. Maybe I won't cancel my account just yet...

i cant find the +11healing +2spirit gem at SSO vendor ?

Originally Posted by Boubouille

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment

Powerleveling

• According to a few reports, you cannot powerlevel anymore by DOTing mobs with a level 70 player and leaving the instance before they die. The XP of each mob has been greatly lowered. (Still need to be confirmed)
  

Is this the method/part of the method Athene used?

Originally Posted by Boubouille

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment

Hunter

• Scare beast isn't instant and still have its 1.5sec cast time, even if the tooltip still says "Instant" this is an intended change and the tooltip will be reverted back to 1.5 sec in a later patch.

/. would tag that as suddenoutbreakofcommonsense

Not sure if anyone has seen this, but when your text goes onto a second line, it seems to 'tab in'. One would presume its to stop people writing " [Trade] [Sephris] giving away free gold", and pretending to be others.

Edit: Confirmed it's not an addon.

Edit2: This actually didn't make much sense now that I've re-read it, so I added screenshots.

I'm not really sure about this ...
but Dragonstrike Haste Buffs does not stack anymore ... (did on PTR) :-[
Buff just refreshes

Anybody able to verify that?
Although I'd love to hear that I'm wrong

Seems all G15 Keys aren't working since 2.4.2, anyone can confirm this?

Originally Posted by theiceman

@Archi changes

Fire can target and chase Melee. Never possible pre 2.4.2.
Fire will now spawn -much- closer to Archimonde, and the pathing is entirely random.


O_o


@The_Nobody

my g15 keys are working, autorepeat (on hold down) also.

Thanks 4 checking, I'll check my setup.

I'm not sure if this was a function of Prat or part of the default UI, but I can no longer just press "/" to open a new chat window or continue chatting in trade.

I.e I used to press enter, then /2 then I could continue talking in trade using /


Now I have to press enter /2 every time I want to talk.

So... what happened to much hyped Riding Crop change?

as far as i know the haste proc is now doubled on 2 x dragonstrike's...

if not it would have no use to make it one hand imo...

Although i would like to have more comments about this.

I did the multiphase survey quest yesterday around 8pm, and I did get a Shattered Sun Package with the reward.

I'v been weilding 2xDragonstrikes since the servers where up again and so far i havent seen any double procc but the uptime seems to be higher tho, still feels like wasted gold when u can't get dual proccs but havent been in a longer boss fight to really cofirm it yet

- You now have a tab, when the chatline will become more than one line.
- In the tooltip there is not a "-" between the lvl and the creature type.