Patch 3.1.3 Live, MLG Colombus, Blue posts

[Boubouille]

Update - Added Recent In-Game Fixes - 06/01

Patch 3.1.3 deployed on live servers this week
Patch 3.1.3 will be deployed on live servers this week. This is mostly a class balancing patch with a few changes to Ulduar.

New Pet
A new pet has been added to the game, according to the name this is most likely a China-only pet. (Keep in mind that WotLK isn't available yet in China)

• Jade Panda Cub - Right Click to summon and dismiss your jade panda cub.

New Achievement
Two Feats of Strength have been added.

• Murkimus the Gladiator - Proud owner of a Murkimus the Gladiator pet.
• Jade Panda Cub - Logged in during the Jade Panda Cub giveaway.

Patch Notes

Below you will find the patch notes for the next minor content patch. As we do not intend to release this patch on the public test realms, we thought we’d share the notes with you ahead of time. Please be aware that these changes are subject to revision until the patch is officially released.

World of Warcraft Client Patch 3.1.3

The latest patch notes can always be found at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/patchnotes/
The latest test realm patch notes can always be found at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/patchnotes/test-realm-patchnotes.html

Death Knight (3.1 Skills List / 3.1 Talent + Glyph Calc.)

• Frost Presence: Armor bonus is now 60% down from 80%.

Druid (3.1 Skills List / 3.1 Talent + Glyph Calc.)

• Improved Barkskin: This talent now also grants 80/160% additional armor while in Travel Form or not shapeshifted.
• Improved Tree of Life: The armor bonus to Tree of Life Form from this talent has been reduced to 67/133/200% bonus armor.

Hunter (3.1 Skills List / 3.1 Talent + Glyph Calc.)

• Hunter's Mark: The ranged attack power bonus from this ability has been increased from 300 to 500.
• Master Marksman: This talent now also decreases the cost of Aimed Shot and Chimera Shot by 5/10/15/20/25%.

Paladin (3.1 Skills List / 3.1 Talent + Glyph Calc.)

• Eye For An Eye: This talent now deals 5/10% of the critical strike damage taken by the paladin back at the attacker.
• Hand of Freedom: The base duration of this buff has been reduced from 10 seconds to 6 seconds.

Rogue (3.1 Skills List / 3.1 Talent + Glyph Calc.)

• Overkill: Talent redesigned. Now increases energy regeneration by 30% while stealthed, and for 20 seconds after breaking stealth.

Warlock (3.1 Skills List / 3.1 Talent + Glyph Calc.)

• Chaos Bolt: This spell no longer ignores damage reduction effects of the target.

Warrior (3.1 Skills List / 3.1 Talent + Glyph Calc.)

• Blood Frenzy: This talent now provides 5/10% haste instead of 3/6%.
• Bloodthirst: Cooldown reduced from 5 seconds to 4 seconds, and rage cost reduced from 30 rage to 20 rage.
• Juggernaut: This talent now also increases the cooldown on Charge by 5 seconds.

Items

• Death Knight PvP Gauntlets: The chance to refresh a Frost Rune when casting Chains of Ice has been removed. When equipped, these gloves now generate 5 additional runic power whenever Chains of Ice is used.

Raids & Dungeons
Ulduar - Mimiron

• The flight time of Rocket Strikes has been increased, and Rocket Strikes will try to prefer players at range.
• The Leviathan Mk II component of the V-07-TR-0N will become stunned during Phase 4 when the VX-001 component begins to cast the P3Wx2 Laser Barrage ability.
• Proximity mines now deal less damage and have a lower duration. A small arming time has also been added so proximity mines will not immediately detonate on creation.

Bug Fixes

• Druid Tier 8 Balance Set: The 4-piece bonus no longer has its effect consumed by Starfire casts in progress when it triggers. The chance for the effect to be triggered has been reduced down to 8%, as it was originally inflated to compensate.
• Ice Layered Barrier: Upgraded to item level 232. In addition, the stats in the tooltip have been correctly adjusted to 78 spell power, 48 haste rating, 16 mana per 5 seconds, 52 Intellect, and 50 Stamina.
• Pulsing Spellshield: The stats listed in the tooltip for this item were incorrect and have been adjusted. This item provides 69 spell power, 34 haste rating, 42 critical strike rating, 45 intellect, and 45 stamina.

Recent In-Game Fixes - 06/01

• The tentacle creatures and floating skulls in Yogg Saron’s brain rooms should now load faster.
• The following items have had their stats increased to properly reflect their item level: Earthshaper, Valorous Siegebreaker Shoulderplates, and Conqueror’s Siegebreaker Shoulderplates.
• The Leviathan’s Coil ring has had its armor reduced from 882 to 448 to properly reflect the item level.

MLG Columbus Broadcast/Match Schedule
The first stop of 2009 for the Major League Gaming PC Circuit played on HP gets underway this Friday June 5th, and continues through Championship Sunday June 7th. The top 8 World of Warcraft teams from North America and Europe will gather at the Columbus Convention Center in Columbus Ohio to battle for over $15,000 in cash.

All matches will be streamed live, free of charge, right here at MMO-Champion.com and GotFrag.com in a customized video player. Just point your browser to MMO-Champion or GotFrag and we do the rest! Join Alex "Vansilli" Nguyen, Keith "Igoaf" Trahan and Jared "Vhell" Coulston as they bring every second of every match right into your living space with exciting play by play, color commentary and detailed analysis from the most experienced WoW commentators and experts in the world.

Friday June 5th 2009
10:30 AM - 1:30 PM Early Check-In
1:30 PM - 6:30 PM Check-In / Warm-Up / Account Setup
6:00 PM - WoW Stream Goes Live!
7:00 PM - 10:00 PM - MATCHCAST
7:00 PM - 7:45 PM - Round Robin: Fnatic vs. Complexity
7:45 PM - 8:30 PM - Round Robin: EG vs. Gravitas
8:30 PM - 9:15 PM - Round Robin: SK vs. Pandemic
9:15 PM - 10:00 PM - Round Robin: Ensidia vs. eMg
10:00 PM – 10:15 PM - WoW Stream Day 1 Wrap Up

Saturday June 6th 2009
8:00 AM - 10:00 AM Warm-Up
9:00 AM - WoW Stream Goes Live!
10:00 AM - 10:00 PM - MATCHCAST
10:00 AM - 10:40 AM - Round Robin: SK vs. EG
10:40 AM - 11:20 AM - Round Robin: Complexity vs. eMg
11:20 AM - 12:00 PM - Round Robin: SK vs. Gravitas
12:00 PM - 12:40 PM - Round Robin: Ensidia vs. Complexity
12:40 PM - 1:20 PM - Round Robin: Fnatic vs. Gravitas
1:20 PM - 2:00 PM - Round Robin: Ensidia vs. EG
2:00 PM - 2:40 PM - Round Robin: Pandemic vs. eMg
2:40 PM - 3:20 PM - Round Robin: Complexity vs. SK
3:20 PM - 4:00 PM - Round Robin: Ensidia vs. Pandemic
4:00 PM - 4:40 PM - Round Robin: EG vs. eMg
4:40 PM - 5:20 PM - Round Robin: Fnatic vs. SK
5:20 PM - 6:00 PM - Round Robin: Pandemic vs. Gravitas
6:00 PM - 6:40 PM - Round Robin: eMg vs. SK
6:40 PM - 7:20 PM - Round Robin: Pandemic vs. EG
7:20 PM - 8:00 PM - Round Robin: Complexity vs. Gravitas
8:00 PM - 8:40 PM - Round Robin: Fnatic vs. Pandemic
8:40 PM - 9:20 PM - Round Robin: Ensidia vs. Gravitas
9:20 PM - 10:00 PM - Round Robin: Fnatic vs. EG
10:00PM – 10:15 PM - WoW Stream Wrap Up

Sunday June 7th 2009
8:00 AM - 10:00 AM Warm-Up
9:00 AM - WoW Stream Goes Live!
10:00AM – 7:00 PM - MATCHCAST
8:00 AM - 10:00 AM Warm-Up
10:00 AM - 10:40 AM - Round Robin: Pandemic vs. Complexity
10:40 AM - 11:20 AM - Round Robin: Fnatic vs. eMg
11:20 AM - 12:00 PM - Round Robin: EG vs. Complexity
12:00 PM - 12:40 PM - Round Robin: Ensidia vs. Fnatic
12:40 PM - 1:20 PM - Round Robin: eMg vs. Gravitas
1:20 PM - 2:00 PM - Round Robin: Ensidia vs. SK
2:00 PM - 2:40 PM - Bracket: Winners Round 1A
2:40 PM - 3:20 PM - Bracket: Winners Round 1B
3:20 PM - 4:00 PM - Bracket: Losers Round 1
4:00 PM - 4:40 PM - Bracket: Winners Finals
4:40 PM - 5:50 PM - Bracket: Losers Finals
5:50 PM - 7:00 PM - Bracket: Finals
7:00 PM – 7:15 PM - Show Wrap/Award Ceremony

Related Links

• Official Rules
• MLG Columbus WoW Announced and Teams Revealed
• MLG Behind the Gamer - zyZ
• MLG Behind the Gamer - Hafu
• MLG Behind the Gamer - Azael
• MLG Behind the Gamer - Happyminti
• MLG Behind the Gamer - Glick
• MLG Behind the Gamer - Flexx
• MLG Behind the Gamer - Twixz
• MLG Behind the Gamer - Kollektiv

Blue posts

Ironbound/Rusted Proto-Drake Achievement Rewards removed in the future
Sorry if there was any confusion on these mounts being removed in the future. I am working on getting an official response put together that covers the situation. There are some factors to consider, but we do plan to remove them. I have not heard of any plans to put in a replacement reward. (Source)

All instances are full!
The limit on the number of instances has been around for awhile now. We feel this was needed to preserve the game play for those already in the instances as it would eventually deteriorate when too many instances were up.

That said, we do not feel feel this is a permanent fix and have been working on a more long term solution for quite awhile now.

[...] There are no specifics I can provide at this time, but I can assure you we knew about this issue quite awhile ago when we had to start limiting the number of instances. This was never meant to be something we would put in and just ignore until players complained about it enough. I can assure you we are actively in the process of a more long term solution but these take a lot of time to plan out and implement so it won't be done overnight. (Source)

Is there any plan to remove some of the Argent Tournament rewards in 3.2?
There are no plans to remove any of the rewards at this time. A couple of goblin quests though may be disappearing because, well, they will be done. (Source)

Pure vs Hybrid classes
At a grossly simplistic level, the two buckets we use are classes with single role ("pures") versus multiple roles ("hybrids"). We don't make much of a distinction beyond that of how many healing specs a class can have or how many healing roles they can fill on a fight. The question is "Can you reroll to fill a different role?" For all healers, the answer is yes.

You might see slightly more priests just because they can fulfill two different healing roles, but to be honest we are seeing a pretty big diversity in who is brought into Ulduar to heal (even for hardmodes) that has a lot to do with guild style, tradition, player skill and synergy. (Source)

Warrior (3.1 Skills List / 3.1 Talent + Glyph Calc.)
Hotfixing Heroic Strike
We haven't changed Heroic Strike yet because just inflating its rage cost (or nerfing rage generation in general) would hurt warrior threat generation. This isn't in the zone of simple hotfix material. (Source)

Generating rage from damage only
Having warriors only or mostly generate rage from damage done is an intriguing idea that has come up a few times. It would help the problem where better gear leads to rage starvation (at least in lower instances) and where warriors have trouble OT'ing because they aren't getting hit. It might also get warriors to care slightly more about dps stats instead of focusing mostly on survival stats. This would all apply to druids too. This isn't a change we have in the pipe, but it is something we discuss from time to time. (Source)

[Embrace]

WTB THE PANDA!

[Boubouille]

It's probably a collector's edition pet for China, Frosty shows too many bones to be allowed here.

[Shámbulancee]

STILL NO SHAMAN LOVE LOL </3

[Zherod]

WTT Wotlk for panda cub!

[sdkphoenix]

Fking chinese...always get the cool pets

[Karadros]

Fking chinese...always get the cool pets

I could say the same about Americans.

[qwertyk]

Fking chinese...always get the cool pets

You should be greatfull that our government doesn't sensor bones in our games.

[riflemancho]

Fking chinese...always get the cool pets

[andyf]

Can someone put a small note somewhere saying what timezone the times listed are for the tournament?

[SyncMaster]

It's probably a collector's edition pet for China, Frosty shows too many bones to be allowed here.

Jade Panda Cub - Logged in during the Jade Panda Cub giveaway.

More like Blizzard Bear.

[Tarbasch]

is the jewel crafting change tomorrow?

[pandemonium]

Do we have a picture to look at?
It's wierd to have the panda skin to be green rather than black and white.

[Sting]

Video: We THINK this is the panda cub being released.

That's the vanilla collector's edition panda?

http://www.wowhead.com/?item=13583

[Terracresta]

Why is Blizzard trying to fool us again? Thats not tooltip fix with pulsing spellshield, its a nerf.
If the tooltip would be incorrect, i wouldnt get 89 sta, 73spell and 36haste out of it on live...

[flammable]

They must be extremely careful about how they handle this heroic strike change. Its a vital part of our threat generation and warriors / druids are already quite weak compared to paladins / DK's. Putting a bigger focus on damage dealt can only be good but it shouldn't effect our threat negatively overall.

Nerf DKs, Buff Warrior Aoe (reduce shockwave CD), Give Paladins another cooldown, druids seem reasonable to me atm.

[CSJenova]

is the jewel crafting change tomorrow?

JC change and druid skins are currently slated for 3.2. I know you only asked about 1...but thought I would address both.

[CaptainArlong]

I really wish they would work a bit faster on finding a solution to the instance limit.

[Deleted]

STILL NO SHAMAN LOVE LOL </3

Still no Shaman care from Blizz :\

[Elementium]

speaking of shaman changes is it safe to assume that blizzards post about pets sharing stats like hit will work on spirit wolves