Adding a Damage Meter to the default UI
There are no plans for a damage meter at this time. (
Source)
Increased Realm Population with Patch 3.1
We'll have more information about exactly what our plan for dealing with increased realm population will be as we get closer to the launch date for the patch. In the meantime, we are working on plans to make certain that there is minimal impact to gameplay for players who are eagerly anticipating this large content patch.That is not to say that there won't be some bumps in the road along the way to smooth sailing.
Working in the Gaming Industry
As to the IGDA white paper, my take on it is like any industry there are good employers and bad employers. There are studios operating on a shoestring budget for the love of the product and there are managers who exploit their workers for personal gain. I have met very wealthy people and people who probably don't earn what they deserve. It's hard to condemn or deify an entire industry. It's a business.
My advice to you would be that it can be a great industry to be in. You meet very smart people from around the world. Your customers get excited about your product in a way that people who make toilet paper or green beans or printers or doors never get to experience. You get to play games, even at work. Just be careful where you go to work. It isn't worth sacrificing everything to make it. And as with any industry, the people who are just starting out, who are struggling and probably not compensated well, are the ones who may sound the most bitter.
I love what I do, and so do my co-workers. Blizzard is a fantastic place to work and fortunately it is not the only place in the industry that I would say that about. It will turn out to be the right industry for some of you, and one of you will be here in a few years trying to pen forums posts that sound calm and intelligent and making gin jokes. (
Source)
Raids & Dungeons
Yogg-Saron and Algalon Testing
I would not expect these bosses to appear on the PTR. (
Source)
New ways to find groups for instances to be added to the game soon
We have been tossing around some ideas for post-patch 3.1 to help players more easily find groups for instances of all levels and types. (
Source)
Tier 8.10 not available from emblems
Tier 8.10 or however you want to say it will drop off the bosses in Ulduar10 as usual. Tier 8.5 or 8.25, will drop off the Ulduar25 bosses and have 2 pieces available through emblems of conquest, you need like 50 of them to purchase one of these tokens. (
Source)
Effects of Dual-Spec on PvE
We're honestly not concerned that this will "break" PvE, and some of the concerns we see here are identical (in concept) with concerns we've seen in the past whenever we've announced certain major new features. Naturally, players are protective of this game, and we fully understand and respect that reality. With that being said, we will be watching closely how dual-specs play out when 3.1.0 releases to live realms, and if we feel we need to make any adjustments, we will. (
Source)
All Naxxramas relics added to Emblems of Valor quartermasters in Patch 3.1
Because relic items are very class and spell specific we felt they were different enough to add on to the vendor. You can't exactly get the relic anywhere else and there is no replacement, like you can have multiple kinds of weapons to dps with - yeah, some are better than others, but they will all work - if you want a relic to improve a certain spell, there is likely only one option and we didn't want to say "have fun running naxx!" to get it. (
Source)
Emblems of Valor not usable to buy Ulduar-25 gear
We don't want piling up a bunch of emblems now to give a big advantage when a patch launches where someone buys a set of gear from the beginning.
Currently the only items I noticed added to the emblem of valor quartermaster are the relic items that were in Naxx. Examples: Sigil of Awareness, Idol of Awakening, Libram of Resurgence, Totem of Hex, etc. While it is technically "old" gear, the emblems of valor that drop in Ulduar10 will give you access to items that are of the appropriate level to help progress in that dungeon.
The emblems of conquest that drop from Ulduar25 have a new quartermaster and a new set of items that go with it that include necks, belts, gloves, and leg slot items.
[...] The best way to say it is don't expect anything to get added to the Emblem of Valor Quartermaster, we will see if we feel more should be added in the future as adding items is always a possibility, there just are no definite plans to do it. (
Source)
[...] Yes, Ulduar10 gear is slightly higher (ilevel 219) than some of the normal Naxx25 (ilevel 213) drops, but it is only half a tier better, so it isn't an overly drastic amount. In the end, the emblems of valor will allow players to purchase ilevel 213 items which are an improvement over the normal Naxx10 (ilevel 200) drops which will help them progress. (
Source)
10-Man and 25-Man Hard Modes
I could see arguments to have similar versions of all of that content for the 10-player raids. As I said, this is the first time we have really offered a lot of hard modes that actually offer something more than achievement points. We will have to see how it goes.
As an example, it appears that a lot of the groups who did 10-player Sartharion +3 were the same groups who did 25-player Sartharion +3. Now there were a few groups who did the 10-player version and only that version. We need to figure out how many players like that are out there. What I mean is that some players would prefer 7-player versions and others 30-player versions. We aren't trying to (and realistically cannot) give everyone what they want. We just want to provide some options. If it turns out only a handful of players are really interested or capable of the 10-player version, then we might not keep offering them. If it turns out to be a non-trivial number of players, then we might make equivalent legendaries and everything else.
I can even see the argument that 10 and 25 need to offer the same item level of gear. As I said, we haven't figured out a way to do it that won't kill 25-player guilds. Someone brought up the example of how 5-player or even solo versions that offered the same gear would trump everything else, and I think that logic is sensible. While the larger groups might be a preference, we think we still need some incentive to manage those larger groups or they will die -- not because players don't like them, but because efficiency is very important in games like this and efficiency can even trump fun. In this case we don't want it to.
Bottom line is we have already tried several different designs for our end-game raiding model and I'm almost certain this one is not the last. We'll see how Ulduar goes and update our model from there if we feel it's necessary. (
Source)
PvP - Arena
Class Balance in Season 5
Certain classes are performing better in season 5 than others. We've admitted that. For the most part though, the best players and most coordinated groups will be at the top of the charts.
Players have asserted every season that certain classes are over powered. While our goal is to tune balance as best as possible to provide a fair playing field for all, there will always be superior group make-ups. There's no reason to extend this season any longer when we're likely to see a host of new concerns posted by players in season 6 as players battle for the best rewards. Intense competition leads to intense discussion and debate. This isn't new to season 5. (
Source)
Resplenishment in Arenas
The role of replenishment in Arenas is definitely something we are taking a hard look at and constructive player feedback continues to be something we both welcome and encourage. (
Source)
PvP - Battlegrounds
Alterac Valley Tokens for "Concerted Efforts" and "For Great Honor" repeatable quests
The repeatable quests “Concerted Efforts” (Alliance) and “For Great Honor” (Horde) will require the Alterac Valley token again in 3.1. [...] On the PTR the quest rewards 1241 honor at the moment. (
Source)
Alterac Valley win ratio
Last time I checked the battles in Alterac Valley come out very close to 50-50 win ratios. This can differ a bit by battlegroup but I haven't heard of any horrendous numbers as players often bring up. (
Source)
Bringing back "old school" Alterac Valley
There are no plans to bring back "old school" Alterac Valley. We've discussed this several times before and are not entertained by the idea. As fun as it was to log out for the night in the middle of an Alterac Valley match with no end in sight, only to join the queue the next day and jump into the same game, we favor battlegrounds that end. (
Source)
New WotLK Battleground to be AV-Like
A new battleground is in the works for Wrath of the Lich King. We feel this may provide the best compromise for those who like Alterac Valley but miss it's original iteration. We'll be providing more information some time after 3.1 is released. (
Source)
Professions
Crocolisks in the City
I talked about this recently and we agree this one is pretty bonkers and would like to change it in the future, there is just no ETA on that. On a brighter not, there is no special treatment/loot from one of the Dalaran daily fishing quests to another. (
Source)
Classes
Hotfixing overpowered mechanics
If you're asking why we don't throw in quick hotfixes -- as was mentioned with Plague Strike -- the idea of throwing a quick, flat nerf out there with little consideration for the ripples it will cause is dangerous and short-sighted. The best time to really work on balancing classes is during a major patch. The fact that the dual specialization feature is coming in 3.1 also allows us more time to really focus on talent trees as well, which is partially the reason players are going to see some major balancing adjustments in 3.1.
[...] If you're curious whether or not there are certain exceptions to the rule in certain situations, it's true. It doesn't mean there's a hard-and-fast rule for immediately adjusting any ability that might be a little too powerful in PvP. This is especially true in the case of death knights, where the plan has been to do a lot of major adjustments with the first major content patch after the release of Wrath of the Lich King (3.1) since the class is brand new. (
Source)
Tanking - Weapon Enchant
Well, it's a matter of what is needed (assuming you can parry and therefore use both of them) right?
Blade Ward provides some parry, but with this being affected by diminishing returns it is cut down a bit. The damage it causes will provide extra threat, will it be more than the crit/hit from Accuracy? I haven't done any testing yet, but I'll try it out for sure and if it turns out well, I can see it being my threat enchant.
For Blood Draining the extra health it provides is along the lines of more effective health if it procs a fair amount. Granted if the proc is rare it won't be worth it, but if the proc happens regularly and I am focusing on surviving, I don't see why you wouldn't want a passive health potion to go off.
I tend to focus on survival more at the start of a dungeon and then transition to threat as it gets easier. I try to keep two weapons around with different enchants to focus on whatever is needed in a given fight. (
Source)
Death Knight (
3.1 Skills List / 3.1 Talent + Glyph Calc.)
Presence Dancing and Frost Presence in PvP
Overall we don't exactly see a lot of Death Knights staying in Frost Presence the whole time in PvP. We also don't want Presence dancing to become a fundamental mechanic of the class as they weren't designed with a lot of depth to them.
On the other hand, having a warrior change to Defensive Stance when focused is totally cool. Druids should also be using their forms a lot. If we continue to have issues with DKs being too powerful after 3.1, even after all the nerfs in the upcoming patch, then Frost Presence will be on the list to look at. (
Source)
Shaman (
3.1 Skills List / 3.1 Talent + Glyph Calc.)
Bloodlust / Heroism in 3.1
We nerfed Bloodlust / Heroism for 3.1. They provide a great buff, just as Sunder Armor and Curse of Elements provide great debuffs. We don’t assume you have every buff or debuff for 10 player hard modes, but we do assume you have some. For 25 player hard modes, we assume you have about every buff / debuff possible.
Can you do 25 hard without a shaman? Yes. Will it be easier with a shaman? Yes. Bloodlust is definitely one to keep an eye on though. (
Source)
Upcoming Totem Changes
We have some things we'd like to do with totems. We are going to be very reluctant to announce them until they are virtually set in stone. (
Source)
Recent Blue Posts
Hunter adjustments -- April 23
Crests in Season 4
Boosting payments.
MMO-Champion
American Standings
European Standings (Source)
Recent Forum Posts
Originally Posted by Boubouille
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