Patch 3.2 PTR Patch Notes, Battlegrounds Q&A

[Boubouille]

Update - The Mage class Q&A is available!

Update - 4 New screenshots of the Isle of Conquest.

Patch 3.2 PTR Patch Notes

World of Warcraft PTR Patch 3.2.0

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

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

General

[*]Construction of the Crusaders' Coliseum is complete. Testing not yet available. New raid normal and heroic modes for the Crusaders' Coliseum can be toggled using the Dungeon Difficulty setting. This applies to 10 and 25 player versions. 10 player (normal), 25 player (normal), 10 player (heroic) and 25 player (heroic) all share separate raid lockout timers.
[*]Trial of the Champion
[*]5 player (normal and heroic mode) dungeon. [*]Daily quest added to the heroic daily dungeon quest giver. [/list] [*]Trial of the Crusader
[*]10 and 25 player (normal mode) raid dungeon. [/list] [*]Trial of the Grand Crusader
[*]10 and 25 player (heroic mode) raid dungeon. [*]Crusaders' Tribute: Active on heroic difficulty only, the tribute system will limit players on the number of attempts the raid is allotted each week. Additional rewards can be earned depending on the number of attempts left in the tribute run each week when the final boss is defeated. [/list] [/list] [*]Isle of Conquest, the new 40 vs. 40 player siege-style battleground is now available for testing.
[*]Two level brackets are available: 71-79 and 80. [*]Defend the walls of your keep and protect your general by killing enemy players and destroying their siege vehicles. [*]Capture the Docks, Airship Hangar, or Siege Workshop for access to destructive siege vehicles or strategic attacks on your enemy's base. [*]Capture the Oil Derrick or Cobalt Mine for their resources to garner reinforcements and a steady flow of bonus honor. [*]To claim victory, bust through the enemy's keep walls (or find other ways to get inside) and kill their general, or obliterate your opponents until their reinforcements are depleted. [/list] [*]The Argent Tournament Expands
[*]All new Argent Crusader daily quests and rewards have been added for players with the Crusader title. Rewards include a new Argent Crusader banner and tabard (which can port players to the tournament grounds), a mounted squire (can periodically run bank, mail or vendor errands for the player), a paladin-exclusive Argent Crusader Charger mount, and new heirloom items. [*]All new Silver Covenant and Sunreaver daily quests and rewards have been added for players exalted with these factions. Rewards include tabards, new ground and flying mounts, and a new pet. [*]The Black Knight returns. Follow the continued story line as the saga unfolds before you. [/list] [*]New druid art for cat and bear forms has been added. There are now five unique color schemes for each form and faction. Changing hair color (night elves) or skin tone (tauren) via the barbershop will change the look of one's cat and bear forms. [*]Portals from Orgrimmar and Stormwind have been added leading players to the Stair of Destiny at the Dark Portal. Once there, players can access a flight path directly from the Stair of Destiny to Shattrath. [*]A new zeppelin docking ramp has been added to Thunder Bluff allowing Horde players easier transport to and from Orgrimmar. [*]The local Postal Service has grown tired of walking so far each day to collect mail and have decided to install a large number of new mailboxes to Stormwind, Undercity, Darnassus and Orgrimmar. [*]Northrend Children's Week has arrived in Dalaran! Players can find out more by visiting the Eventide District. [*]Copied Test Realm characters will no longer be copied with their achievement history in order to better facilitate the character copy process. [/list]


PvP
[*]Arenas
[*]The newest season of Arena gear can only be purchased if you meet the requirements with your 3 or 5 player team rating. Rating requirements from 2 player teams can still be used to purchase the previous season of gear. [*]Dalaran Sewers
[*]The entire Arena has increased in size by 25%. [*]Mounts can now be used in this Arena. [*]The position and collision of the crates on the central platform has been modified. [/list] [*]Ruins of Lordaeron
[*]Alcoves have been removed from the starting chambers. [*]Two line-of-sight tombstones have been added to the slime pool on the southern side of the map. [*]The collision around the central tomb has been smoothed out to prevent players from becoming stuck on the terrain as often. [/list] [/list] [*]Battlegrounds
[*]Battleground experience has arrived!
[*]Players will now be awarded experience for completing objectives and actions that yield honor in Battlegrounds (honorable kills not included). [*]Players who do not wish to gain experience through PvP can visit Behsten in Stormwind or Slahtz in Orgrimmar - both located near the Battlemasters in either city - and turn off all experience accumulation for the cost of 10 gold. [*]Disabling experience gains will prevent a player from gaining experience through any means available in the game. [*]Players with experience gains turned off who compete in Battlegrounds will face off only against other players with experience gains turned off. [*]Behsten and Slahtz can reinstate experience gains for players, for a 10 gold fee of course. Any experience that would've been accumulated if experience gains were not turned off cannot be recovered. [/list] [*]Battlemasters in major cities affiliated with specific Battlegrounds have been replaced with a Battlemaster for each faction that will allow players to queue for any Battleground. Battlemasters for specific Battlegrounds will still be seen around the cities during corresponding Battleground holiday weekends. [*]When standing at a capture point that you control, you will gain a buff called Honorable Defender. This buff grants +50% honor gained from kills. This currently affects Arathi Basin, Eye of the Storm and Isle of Conquest. [*]Arathi Basin
[*]The time it requires to capture a base has been reduced to 8 seconds, down from 10 seconds. [*]The game now ends when one team reaches 1600 victory points, down from 2000. [/list] [*]Eye of the Storm
[*]The time it requires to capture the center flag has been reduced to 8 seconds, down from 10 seconds [*]The game now ends when one team reaches 1600 victory points, down from 2000. [/list] [*]Strand of the Ancients
[*]The faction starting on attack/defense will now be randomized at the start of each match. [/list] [*]Warsong Gulch
[*]There is a now a 20 minute timer on this battleground. After that time, the team with the most flag captures wins. If this would result in a tie, the team that captured the first flag wins. If neither side has captured a flag, then the game ends in a tie. [/list] [/list] [/list]


Races: General
[*]Axe Specialization (Orc): The weapon bonus from this effect now applies to fist weapons in addition to axes. [*]Tauren now have the option of changing skin tone by visiting the barber shop. [/list]


Items: General
[*]Block Value: The amount of bonus block value on all items has been doubled. This does not affect the base block value on shields or block value derived from strength. [*]On-Use Block Value Items: All items and set bonuses that trigger temporary increases to block value have been modified. Instead of increasing their block value amount by 100% like other items, they have all had their effect durations doubled. This applies to Glyph of Deflection, Gnomeregan Autoblocker, Coren's Lucky Coin, Lavanthor's Talisman, Libram of Obstruction, Tome of the Lightbringer, Libram of the Sacred Shield, the tier 8 paladin Shield of Righteousness bonus, the tier 5 paladin Holy Shield bonus, and the tier 5 warrior Shield Block bonus. [*]Emblem System Changes
[*]Both the 10 and 25 player instances of the Crusaders' Coliseum drop a new Emblem of Triumph. [*]Any dungeons that previously dropped Emblems of Heroism or Valor, such as Naxxramas or Heroic Halls of Stone, will now drop Emblems of Conquest instead. Emblems of Conquest can still be converted to Valor or Heroism. [*]The heroic dungeon daily quest will now reward 2 Emblems of Triumph and the normal daily dungeon quest will reward 1 Emblem of Triumph. [*]The existing achievements to collect 1, 25, 50, etc. Emblems of Heroism, Valor, and Conquest have been converted to Feats of Strength since Heroism and Valor Emblems are no longer attainable. [*]New achievements have been added to collect various amounts of any combination of emblems. [/list] [*]Mounts
[*]The cast time for summoning any ground mount is now 1.5 seconds, down from 3 seconds. [*]Apprentice Riding (Skill 75): Can now be learned at level 20 for 4 gold. Mail will be sent to players who reach level 20 directing them to the riding trainer. [*]Journeyman Riding (Skill 150): Can now be learned at level 40 for 50 gold. Mail will be sent to players who reach level 40 directing them back to the riding trainer. [*]Expert Riding (Skill 225): Can now be learned at level 60 for 600 gold from trainers in Honor Hold or Thrallmar. Faction discounts now apply (Honor Hold for Alliance; Thrallmar for Horde). Flight speed at this skill level has been increased to 150% of run speed, up from 60%. [*]Artisan Riding (Skill 300): Faction discounts now apply (Honor Hold or Valiance Expedition for Alliance; Thrallmar or Warsong Offensive for Horde). [*]In order to further equalize the number of purchasable mounts available to each race, a new 60% speed ground mount has been added for night elves, and a new 100% speed ground mount has been added for the undead. [*]Flying over Dalaran and Wintergrasp is now possible so long as players keep a healthy distance above the ground. [/list] [*]Mana Regeneration: All items that provide "X mana per five seconds" have had the amount of mana they regenerate increased by approximately 25%. [*]Resilience: No longer reduces the amount of damage done by damage over time spells, but instead reduces the amount of all damage done by players by the same proportion. The other effects of resilience (reducing critical chance, critical damage and mana drain effects) have not changed. [/list]


Classes: General
[*]All pets now receive 40% of their master's resilience and 100% of their master's spell penetration. In addition, if a player is at their appropriate spell hit chance or hit chance maximum, their pet will be at the maximum for spell hit chance, hit chance, and expertise. If they are below the maximum, their pet will be proportionately below those maximums. [*]Replenishment: This buff now grants 1% of the target's maximum mana over 5 seconds instead of 0.25% per second. This applies to all 5 sources of Replenishment (Vampiric Touch, Judgements of the Wise, Hunting Party, Enduring Winter Frostbolts and Soul Leech). [*]Silence, Strangulate, Silencing Shot, and Arcane Torrent: These abilities will also apply a 3 second interrupt effect against non-player controlled targets, making them more versatile against creatures immune to silencing effects. [/list]


Death Knight
[*]Due to significant talent changes, all death knight talents will be reset for players. [*]Blood Strike: The bonus damage this ability receives from diseases on the target has been increased to 50% per disease. [*]Chains of Ice: Now reduces movement by 95% instead of 100%. The main effect of this change will be that targets of Chains of Ice will not have to re-issue a movement command to continue moving. [*]Frost Presence: 10% bonus health reduced to 6% bonus stamina. [*]Frost Strike: This ability can now be dodged, parried, or blocked. Weapon damage bonus reduced to 55%, down from 60%. [*]Icebound Fortitude: Cooldown increased to 2 minutes. [*]Talents
[*]Blood
[*]Dancing Rune Weapon: This ability now has a fixed duration of 12 seconds (which can still be modified by its glyph) and a fixed cost of 60 runic power. [*]Veteran of the Third War: Stamina bonus reduced to 1/2/3%. [/list] [*]Frost
[*]Blood of the North: Reduced to a 3-point talent. Increases Blood Strike and Frost Strike damage by 5/10/15%. There is now a 33/66/100% chance whenever you hit with Blood Strike or Pestilence that the Blood Rune will become a Death Rune when it activates. [*]Lichborne: Duration reduced to 10 seconds, and cooldown reduced to 2 minutes. [*]Threat of Thassarian: New 3-point talent. When dual-wielding, your Death Strikes, Obliterates, Plague Strikes, Blood Strikes and Frost Strikes have a 30/60/100% chance to also deal damage with your off-hand weapon. Off-hand strikes are roughly one half the effect of the original strike. [*]Toughness: This talent now grants 2/4/6/8/10% armor instead of 3/6/9/12/15%, placing it in line with similar abilities of other classes. [/list] [*]Unholy
[*]Desecration: This talent has been reduced to 2 points for 25/50% snare and no longer increases damage done by the death knight. It has also been moved one tier earlier in the tree and its spell effect has been made more transparent. [*]Desolation: New talent. This talent is in the position formerly occupied by Desecration. It causes Blood Strikes to increase all damage the death knight deals by 1/2/3/4/5% for 12 seconds. [*]Scourge Strike: Weapon damage bonus reduced to 40%, down from 45%. Damage increased by 10% per disease on the target, down from 11%. [*]Summon Gargoyle: The gargoyle now flies lower to the ground, making it susceptible to melee attacks. This ability now has a fixed duration of 30 seconds and a fixed cost of 60 runic power. [*]Unholy Blight: This talent has been redesigned. It no longer deals damage to nearby targets. Instead, when you deal damage with Death Coil, the target will take periodic damage for 10 seconds equal to 30% of the damage done by Death Coil. This damage accumulates in the same way as Ignite and Deep Wounds. [/list] [/list] [/list]


Druid
[*]Flight Form: Can now be learned at level 60. Flight speed increased to 150%. [*]Innervate: Duration reduced to 10 seconds, and cooldown reduced to 3 minutes. This means each use of Innervate will give half as much mana as before, but it will be available twice as often. [*]Lifebloom: The final heal that occurs when this spell blooms has been reduced by 20% on the base and on the spell power coefficient. [*]Mangle: Ranks 4 and 5 base points reduced by about 11%. Scaling from attack power unchanged. [*]Rake: Ranks 6 and 7 base points on initial and periodic damage reduced by about 7%. Scaling from attack power unchanged. [*]Rip: Ranks 8 and 9 base points and points per combo point reduced by about 6%. Scaling from attack power unchanged. [*]Savage Defense: The animation for gaining this buff will no longer make the bear stand upright [*]Shred: Ranks 8 and 9 base points reduced by about 10%. Scaling from attack power unchanged. [*]Swipe (Cat): Percent of weapon damage done reduced from 260% to 250%. [*]Travel Form: Can now be learned at level 16. [*]Talents
[*]Balance
[*]Balance of Power: Now reduces all spell damage taken by 3/6%, rather than reducing the chance to be hit by spells by 2/4%. [*]Eclipse: The Starfire and Wrath buffs from this talent are now on separate 30 second. cooldowns. In addition, it is not possible to have both buffs active simultaneously. [*]Owlkin Frenzy: Now also restores 2% base mana every 2 seconds for the duration (10 seconds) in addition to its current effects. [/list] [*]Restoration
[*]Empowered Touch: Now also increases the amount of bonus healing effects for Nourish by 10/20%. [*]Improved Barkskin: No longer provides dispel resistance to all effects on the druid, but now reduces the chance your Barkskin is dispelled by an additional 35/70%. [/list] [/list] [/list]


Hunter
[*]Aspect of the Cheetah: Can now be learned at level 16. [*]Deterrence now has a new visual spell effect. [*]The time that traps will exist in the world after being put down has been reduced to 30 seconds, down from 1 minute. [*]Traps now have separate 30 second cooldown categories: Fire (Immolation Trap, Explosive Trap and Black Arrow), Frost (Freezing Trap, Frost Trap) and Nature (Snake Trap). A hunter can have one trap of each category placed at one time. [*]Talents
[*]Beast Mastery
[*]Catlike Reflexes now also reduces the cooldown of your Kill Command ability by 10/20/30 seconds. [/list] [*]Survival
[*]Entrapment: This talent no longer works with Immolation Trap or Explosive Trap. [*]Lock and Load: Now has a 22 second cooldown. The Lock and Load effect cannot be obtained on targets immune to snare effects when Frost Trap is used. [/list] [*]Pets
[*]Roar of Sacrifice: Redesigned. This ability can now be used on any friendly target to make that target immune to critical strikes, but the Hunter pet takes 20% of all damage taken by that friendly target. Cooldown increased to 2 minutes. [/list] [/list] [/list]


Mage
[*]Arcane Blast: Mana cost reduced by 12%. [*]Invisibility: Can no longer be interrupted by a hostile action or damage done during the 3 second fade time, however an invisible mage can still be stunned or silenced. [*]Talents
[*]Fire
[*]Empowered Fire: In addition to its existing effects, this talent now also grants a 33/67/100% chance to regain 1% of base mana each time the Ignite talent deals damage. [/list] [/list] [/list]


Paladin
[*]Blessing of Sanctuary: This blessing now also increases stamina by 10%. This effect is not cumulative with Blessing of Kings. [*]Charger: Can now be learned at level 40. [*]Exorcism: Now has a 1.5 second cast time, but can once again be used on players. [*]Hand of Reckoning: Redesigned. Now does damage only when target does not currently have the caster targeted, but damage done increased to 50% of attack power, occurring after the taunt effect is applied. [*]Judgement of Light: Now heals for 2% of the attacker's maximum health instead of a variable amount based on the spell power and attack power of the judging paladin. [*]Lay on Hands: The buff from this ability now reduces the physical damage taken by the target by 10/20% instead of increasing the target's armor. [*]Righteous Fury: No longer has a duration or mana cost, remaining until cancelled or death. Also cancelled when a Paladin activates a different talent specialization. [*]Sacred Shield: When a paladin casts Flash of Light on a target with this buff, they also now place a heal over time effect on the target, healing that target for 100% of the Flash of Light amount over 12 seconds. [*]Seal of Blood: This ability has been removed. [*]Seal of the Martyr: This ability has been removed. [*]Seal of Vengeance and Seal of Corruption: These seals have been redesigned to deal substantially more damage. Now, once a paladin has 5 copies of the debuff from these seals on his or her target, on each swing the paladin will deal 33% weapon damage as Holy, with critical strikes dealing double damage. [*]Shield of Righteousness: Now deals 100% of shield block value as damage instead of 130%. [*]Warhorse: Can now be learned at level 20. [*]Talents
[*]Holy
[*]Beacon of Light: The healing amount on the Beacon of Light target is now based on the total healing done (including over-healing) instead of the effective healing done. Radius increased to 60 yards. Multiple Paladins can now have this active on the same target. Buff indicating a player is within range of the Beacon target is no longer displayed. [*]Divine Intellect: This talent now gives 2/4/6/8/10% increased intellect instead of 3/6/9/12/15%. [*]Illumination: This talent now returns 30% of the mana cost of the spell instead of 60%. [/list] [*]Protection
[*]Ardent Defender: Redesigned. Currently, any damage taken by the paladin while at 35% health or below is reduced. Instead, any attack that would reduce the paladin to 35% health or below has its damage reduced. In addition, once every 2 minutes an attack that would have killed the paladin will fail to kill, and instead set the paladin's health to 10/20/30% of maximum. [/list] [*]Retribution
[*]Art of War: Now only applies to melee critical hits, but will make your next Flash of Light or Exorcism instant. [*]Crusader Strike: Damage reduced to 75% weapon damage to match the new 4 second cooldown. [*]Seal of Command: Redesigned. This seal now deals 36% weapon damage on every swing, and deals substantially less judgement damage. [*]Vindication: Redesigned. Now lowers target attack power, is consistent and does not stack with Demoralizing Shout. [/list] [/list] [/list]


Priest
[*]Prayer of Healing: The percentage of spell power this spell gains in healing (per target) has been reduced from 80.7% to 52.6%. [*]Talents
[*]Discipline
[*]Penance: Cooldown increased to 12 seconds, up from 10 seconds. [/list] [*]Holy
[*]Inspiration: The buff from this ability now reduces the physical damage taken by the target by 3/7/10% instead of increasing the target's armor. [/list] [/list] [/list]


Rogue
[*]After much quiet contemplation, rogues now possess the ability to learn how to use one-handed axes. [*]Talents
[*]Combat
[*]Sword Specialization: This talent is now called Hack and Slash and applies to axes as well as swords. [/list] [*]Subtlety
[*]Shadow Dance: Cooldown reduced to 1 minute. Now lasts 6 seconds, down from 10 seconds. [/list] [/list] [/list]


Shaman
[*]A customizable totem bar will now be available for shaman allowing the storing of 4 different totems. These totems can be placed on the ground at once in one global cooldown for the combined mana cost of all 4 totems. [*]All Shocks now have a default range of 25 yards, up from 20 yards. [*]Base health increased by approximately 7% to correct for shamans having lower health than other classes. [*]Chain Heal: Jump distance increased to 10 yards. In addition, the amount of healing now decreases by 40% as it jumps to each new target, instead of 50%. [*]Ghost Wolf: Can now be learned at level 16. While in this form, snaring effects may not bring the shaman below base normal run speed. [*]Talents
[*]Enhancement
[*]Shamanistic Rage: Cooldown is now 1 minute, down from 2 minutes. Successful melee attacks now have a chance to generate mana equal to 15% of the shaman's attack power, down from 30%. [/list] [*]Restoration
[*]Ancestral Healing: The buff from this ability now reduces the physical damage taken by the target by 3/7/10% instead of increasing the target's armor. [*]Cure Poison and Cure Disease: Combined into a single spell, Cure Toxins. [*]Earth Shield: Dispel effects will now remove charges of Earth Shield rather than the entire aura. [*]Healing Way: Redesigned. Rather than providing a chance of increasing Healing Wave spells on a friendly target, this talent now innately increases the effectiveness of the shaman's Healing Wave by 8/16/25%. [*]Mana Tide Totem: Totem health now equal to 10% of the shaman's health. [*]Nature's Guardian: Redesigned. Now has a fixed 100% proc rate, has a 30 second internal cooldown, and increases the shaman's maximum health by 3/6/9/12/15% for 10 seconds. [*]Nature's Swiftness: Cooldown is now 2 minutes, down from 3 minutes. [*]Tidal Waves: No longer reduces the cast time of Lesser Healing Wave by 30%. It instead now provides +25% critical strike chance to Lesser Healing Wave, along with the previous 30% cast time benefit to Healing Wave. [*]Improved Water Shield: This talent now has a 10/20/30% chance to be triggered by Chain Heal, and the charges of Water Shield are no longer consumed by this talent. [/list] [/list] [/list]


Warlock
[*]Banish: Effect will now be canceled if Banish is recast on a banished target. [*]Dreadsteed: Can now be learned at level 40. [*]Felsteed: Can now be learned at level 20. [*]Soulshatter cooldown reduced to 3 minutes, down from 5 minutes [*]Talents
[*]Affliction
[*]Pandemic: Now also increases the critical damage bonus of Haunt by 100%. [/list] [*]Demonology
[*]Fel Domination cooldown reduced to 3 minutes, down from 15 minutes. [/list] [*]Destruction
[*]Empowered Imp: The warlock's critical hit chance is increased to 100%, up from 20% for the next spell cast after the Imp critically hits a target. [*]Fire and Brimstone: Reduced to 2/4/6/8/10% increased damage from Incinerate and Chaos Bolt on targets afflicted with Immolate, down from 3/6/9/12/15%. [/list] [/list] [/list]


Warrior
[*]Talents
[*]Fury
[*]Armored to the Teeth: This talent now provides 1/2/3 attack power per 108 armor, up from per 180 armor. [/list] [/list] [/list]


User Interface
[*]Character name auto-completion for the chat frame, pop-ups, and mail interface can be enabled through an interface option in the Development settings. [*]Character names can now be colorized according to class in the chat frame through an interface option in the Development settings. [*]Casting bars under a target's portrait will now indicate whether or not the cast can be interrupted. [*]Druids will now be able to see their mana bars when shape-shifted. [*]Item Comparisons: Holding the shift key while hovering over an item will now display the stat differences with the item currently equipped in the relevant slot. [*]Macros and scripts will no longer be able to target totems by name. [*]Quest creatures and objects will now show on the player's world map. [*]The quest log is now double-paned for more easily viewing quest information. [*]Vendor prices will now be listed on items whether or not players are at a vendor. [*]For additional notes on Lua and XML changes please visit the UI & Macros forum. [/list]


Quests
[*]The ravasaur trainer Mor'vek has returned to Un'Goro and will offer to help Horde players raise and train a Venomhide Ravasaur as a mount... if they can survive the creature's deadly poison. [/list]


Achievements
[*]A Brew-FAST Mount: A new Feat of Strength achievement for acquiring any epic Brewfest mount. [*]Have Keg, Will Travel: Now requires either a Brewfest mount or using Brewfest Hops to transform yours into one. [/list]


Professions
[*]Alchemy
[*]All stackable potions now stack to 20. [*]Added a new pattern for Flask of the North, usable by players with a high alchemy skill. The recipe is purchased from Northrend trainers. Flask of the North increases your spell power, attack power or Strength for 1 hour and is usable in arenas. It is not consumed when used. [*]Endless Healing Potion and Endless Mana Potion no longer usable in arenas. Amount of health and mana has been increased, and the cooldown reduced. [*]Five new epic gem transmute recipes are available from the Northrend trainer. The recipe for transmuting a Cardinal Ruby can be learned from a quest, given by Linzy Blackbolt in Dalaran. [*]The Mixology benefits from Northrend elixirs and flasks have been increased. [*]Rage potions can now be used by druids. [/list] [*]Cooking
[*]Blackened Dragonfin Recipe: Now only requires 1 Dragonfin Angelfish. [*]Chef's Hat is now superior quality and allows the chef to cook faster. [*]Increased the drop rate for recipes from the Outland Daily Cooking quests. [*]Increased the chance to get a bonus Dalaran Cooking Token from the Spice Bag. [*]The recipe for Captain Rumsey's Lager can now be randomly found in the quest reward crate, barrel, or spice bag from the cooking dailies. [/list] [*]Enchanting
[*]Values on Northrend ring enchants increased. [/list] [*]Engineering
[*]Added a schematic for a Goblin Welding Beam that can heal friendly mechanical units. [*]Alarm-o-Bot functionality changed. Materials required reduced. [*]Box of Bombs no longer requires an anvil. [*]Doubled the duration on Nitro Boosts. [*]Increased benefits from Hyperspeed Accelerators, Hand-Mounted Pyro Rocket and Reticulated Armor Webbing glove modifications. [*]Increased the passive bonus provided by Springy Arachnoweave, Flexweave Underlay and Nitro Boosts. [*]Increased siege damage caused by Saronite Bombs and the Global Thermal Sapper Charge. [*]The Ultrasafe Bullet Machine and Saronite Arrow Maker schematics have been simplified to create a full stack of the appropriate ammunition. No longer requires an anvil. Reduced the materials required to make this ammunition. [*]Mote Extractor now has innate tracking for gas clouds while it is in your inventory. Tracking of gas clouds has been removed from goggles. [*]Potion Injectors now increase the amount gained by 25% when used by engineers. Quantity produced by recipes for Runic Healing and Mana Injectors has been increased. [*]Significantly reduced the cooldown on MOLL-E. [*]Spynocular belt enchantment changed to a Brassbolt Rebreather, allowing engineers to breathe underwater. [*]Transporter devices are no longer classified as trinkets and can be used directly from your inventory. [*]Reduced the materials to create all engineering Dragonlings, and reduced their cooldowns, although they still cannot be used in Arenas. [/list] [*]Fishing
[*]Players with 300 or higher cooking have a chance to find a Waterlogged Recipe in the Bag of Fishing Treasures awarded by the Northrend fishing dailies. This item can be traded to other players and rewards several Dalaran Cooking Rewards when turned in. [/list] [*]Herbalism
[*]Increased healing from Lifeblood (Rank 6). [*]Lifeblood now scales slightly with maximum health. No longer affected by global cooldown. [/list] [*]Inscription
[*]Added a new Glyph of Claw for young feral druids who haven't yet obtained Mangle. Inscribers can learn this glyph from the trainer. [*]Master's Inscriptions increased. [/list] [*]Jewelcrafting
[*]Dragon's Eye gems stat bonuses increased. [*]New recipes have been added for cutting epic gems and can be purchased using Dalaran Jewelcrafter's tokens. [*]Icy Prism now has a chance of yielding an epic gem. [*]Raw epic gems can be obtained via the following means:
[*]Prospecting Titanium Ore [*]Alchemy transmutations [*]Purchased with Honor [*]Purchased with Emblems of Heroism [/list] [/list] [*]Leatherworking
[*]Added recipe for Heavy Knothide Leather to Leatherworking trainers (rather than a vendor recipe). Changed several recipes to use Heavy Knothide Leather instead of regular Leather. [*]Fur Lining values increased. [/list] [*]Mining
[*]Toughness (Rank 6) provides more stamina. [/list] [*]Skinning
[*]Master of Anatomy (Rank 6) provides more critical strike rating. [/list] [*]Tailoring
[*]Embroideries improved. [/list] [/list]


Items
[*]Feral Druid PvP Gloves (seasons 3 and 4): Maim bonus changed from the interrupt bonus used in The Burning Crusade arena seasons to the cost reduction used in Wrath of the Lich King arena seasons. [*]Glyphs
[*]Death Knights
[*]Glyph of Unholy Blight: Changed to increase damage done by the updated Unholy Blight talent by 40%. [/list] [*]Druids
[*]Glyph of Innervate: Duration reduced to 10 seconds. [/list] [*]Paladins
[*]Glyph of Seal of Command: Redesigned to cause the Paladin to gain 8% of base mana each time the paladin judges Command. [*]Glyph of Seal of Blood: Changed to Glyph of Holy Wrath, which reduces its cooldown by 15 seconds. [/list] [*]Rogues
[*]Glyph of Shadow Dance: Now increases the duration of Shadow Dance by 2 seconds, down from 4 seconds. [*]Glyph of Tricks of the Trade: Now increases the duration of the damage bonus effect instead of increasing the damage bonus. [/list] [*]Warlocks
[*]Glyph of Lifetap: Duration of the buff from this glyph increased to 40 seconds. [/list] [/list] [*]Idol of the Corruptor: The agility buff from this idol is now exclusive with the agility buff from Idol of Terror. [*]Non-Combat Pets: 8 new pets have been added (not including Argent Tournament rewards). Raptor Hatchlings can be found on rare and elite raptors throughout the game world. In addition, an Obsidian Raptor Hatchling can be purchased from Breanni in Dalaran. [/list]


Dungeons and Raids
[*]25 player raids will no longer be referred to as heroic versions of a raid, as there is a new distinction between normal and heroic modes for both 10 and 25 player versions of the Crusaders' Coliseum. [*]The Nexus: The Oculus & The Eye of Eternity
[*]Vehicles (drakes) used in these instances now scale with item level. [/list] [*]Ulduar
[*]Players can now use Blink, Shadowstep, and Demonic Teleport while participating in the illusion events in the Yogg-Saron encounter. [*]Ominous Clouds in the Yogg-Saron encounter are now more vocal about touching players. [*]Winter Jormungars will no longer put everyone in the zone in combat when they emerge from a Snow Mound. Additionally, Snow Mounds will now disappear when all their jormungars have emerged. [/list] [/list]


Bug Fixes
[*]Corrected a tooltip issue with Pandora's Plea. [*]Randomly generated uncommon (green) and rare (blue) quality items in Wrath of the Lich King had stat values that were lower than intended. All Wrath of the Lich King uncommon and rare items with random suffixes ("of the Bear") have had their stat values increased significantly. [*]The leatherworking item Guardian Gloves is now correctly marked as "Good" quality. [*]Hunter
[*]All ranks of Sonic Blast now properly have an 80 Focus cost. [*]Black Arrow Ranks 5 and 6 training costs have been lowered significantly. [*]Lock and Load: The tooltip for this talent has been updated to indicate that it also works with Explosive Trap. [*]The tooltip for Improved Tracking has been slightly re-written to indicate that it only works on the hunter, and works on melee damage as well. [*]T.N.T. (Rank 3): Now indicates that the talent works with Black Arrow. [/list] [*]Priest
[*]The heal from Glyph of Power Word: Shield can now cause Divine Aegis. [*]Mana Burn: Fixed a bug where Mana Burn did not cause fear effects to break when the fear victim had an absorb shield on. [/list] [*]Shaman
[*]Fixed a bug where Frostbrand Weapon (Rank 9) was not scaling properly with a shaman's spell power. [/list] [/list]
[/html]

The Future of Battlegrounds - Q&A
[blizzquote="Blizzard;http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/underdev/battleground-qna.html"]

Community Team: Joining us today to discuss the future of World of Warcraft Battlegrounds, including the upcoming epic siege-style Battleground, Isle of Conquest, is Lead Content Designer Cory Stockton. First, let’s discuss Battleground participation during the leveling process.

As it’s something that has been discussed at length for some time now within the community, where are we at with allowing for players to obtain experience through Player vs. Player (PvP) combat and Battlegrounds?

Cory Stockton: We plan to implement this in patch 3.2.0. We have wanted to allow players to earn experience through Battlegrounds for a long time now and it’s great to be able to finally deliver this feature to players. Experience will be granted based on honor gain from actions, not kills. For example, if you capture a flag in Warsong Hold, you would gain experience, but killing a player would not grant experience.

If players in the lower level ranges choose to utilize Battlegrounds as a means of leveling their characters, how will the experience gains compare to the Player vs. Environment (PvE) experience?

Cory Stockton: This is something that we have thought about quite a bit. We want Battleground experience to be rewarding, but we also don’t want it to be the fastest way for players to level up. Based on that, players can expect to earn experience at a rate that is a bit slower than questing at the same level, for the same amount of time.

Will rewards of some sort for winning a Battleground match be available?

Cory Stockton: Battleground rewards are high on the list of features that we would like to get in the game. We are not planning to implement this for patch 3.2.0 but we are currently working on it and expect to implement it into a future patch. We are planning to let players roll on mostly greens and the occasional blue item at the end of each Battleground. These items will be highly optimized by class, level, and talent specialization.

Community Team: Given that gaining experience through PvP game play is a rather substantial addition to the World of Warcraft leveling process, there is bound to be some concern among players that enjoy staying at a particular level to participate only in specific level brackets of the Battlegrounds, otherwise known as "twinking."

Do these players still have an avenue to remain at a level of their choosing while still being able to engage in PvP combat?

Cory Stockton: Yes, players will have access to a new option that will allow them to turn off experience gain in PVP. This option also ensures that you will only be matched against other players that have set the same switch. Players can activate this option by talking to new NPCs, Behsten and Slahtz, near the Battlemasters in Orgrimmar or Stormwind. This new ability will cost 10 gold to turn on or off each time.

If these players disable the ability to gain experience, will this apply to PvE content as well?

Cory Stockton: Yes, this option will apply to PvE content as well as PvP.

Community Team: Shifting gears a bit, let’s talk about the ambitious new Battleground coming in the next major content patch, Isle of Conquest. We understand it is to be a large-scale Battleground allowing for forty players on either side of the siege.

What player level brackets will have access to this Battleground?

Cory Stockton: The brackets will be the same as they are for Strand of the Ancients, so a 71-79 bracket and an 80 bracket.

What is unique about Isle of Conquest when compared to the Battlegrounds currently available?

Cory Stockton: The Isle of Conquest will offer a number of unique features that players will not find in any other Battleground. Parachute into your enemy’s base and destroy the keep’s walls from the inside using Saronite bombs, drive our newest vehicle, the Glaive Thrower, or hop into the Catapult and launch yourself over the enemy’s wall. Those are just a few examples of the new things you will be able to do in this Battleground.

What is the story behind the Isle of Conquest; and why are the Alliance and Horde concerned with controlling it?

Cory Stockton: The Isle of Conquest is located in the Frozen Sea, north of Icecrown. This small island may look insignificant but it is actually loaded with resources and a great spot to launch a full attack on The Lich King and his forces in Icecrown. Both factions have set up a foothold here and now the battle is on to decide who will control the island and make the final push against Arthas and his undead army.

Community Team: While Alterac Valley is still a relatively popular large-scale Battleground with players, a common critique we hear is that opponents are not incentivized enough to engage each other in order to win the match.

With that in mind, does the layout of the Isle of Conquest and strategies involved in winning the battle encourage a new level of engaging the enemy head-on?

Cory Stockton: We have designed the layout of the map based on this kind of input. Players come face to face in a matter of seconds and must fight over the only siege workshop on the map right away. We have also made a big effort to create intelligent choke points on the map that force players to fight for control of the various capture points and objectives.

Community Team: We would like to take a moment to delve into the various strategic points found on the Isle of Conquest.

Why do players have an interest in capturing the Oil Derrick or Cobalt Mine?

Cory Stockton: Not only do these capture points give valuable reinforcements but they also grant honor each tick. Holding both points for the majority of a game will grant a significant increase in overall honor.

If the Docks are captured, what are the strategic advantages of producing Glaive Throwers and Catapults?

Cory Stockton: Glaive Throwers are one of the new vehicles we are introducing for the first time in the Isle of Conquest. These are mainly intended to be anti-personnel attack vehicles but they also have an extremely long-range glaive attack. The Catapults are unique in that they allow players to shoot themselves to any destination they see fit. I would recommend shooting yourself over your opponent’s walls and using the Saronite bombs inside!

What will the Gunship offer the faction that controls the Gunship Hangar?

Cory Stockton: Gunships are giant flying transports that fly in a path over the enemy keep. The Gunships are outfitted with turrets that players can use to blast the opposing team’s keep walls or players. The gunships also offer parachutes to everyone on board, so you can jump off the side and land inside the opposing team’s keep!

Community Team: Given that the Siege Workshop is located in the middle of the map directly in between the Alliance and Horde bases, it is bound to be a hotly-contested node.

What kind of vehicles will this workshop offer the faction that controls it?

Cory Stockton: Players will be able to obtain both Siege Engines and Demolishers. The Siege Engines available in the Isle of Conquest are upgraded and allow up to three additional passengers. Two of the passengers have access to their own anti-personnel flame throwers while the third gets a gun turret. The Demolishers have three seats in total. Two of the passengers allow players to cast their own spells while the driver gets access to a gun turret.

What system is being used for capturing these nodes?

Cory Stockton: Nodes in the Isle of Conquest are captured exactly like the nodes in Arathi Basin.

Will there be a system in place to ensure that those defending strategic nodes on the map are awarded honor comparable to those on the attack?

Cory Stockton: This is a common complaint and as such, we have been working on a design to solve the problem! As of patch 3.2.0 any honorable kills that are made within range of a capture point grant 50% increased honor. This change is retroactive to both Arathi Basin and Eye of the Storm.

How important will producing and operating siege vehicles be to reaching victory?

Cory Stockton: Siege vehicles will be important since they are your primary means of destroying your opponent’s keep walls and gaining access to the general. However, players can also parachute off of the Gunships generated by capturing the hangar. Once players land inside their enemy’s courtyard, they can use the Saronite Bombs to destroy the walls from the inside. Saronite Bombs will also generate at the Siege Workshop once it is captured.

Other than the generals that sit in either keep, will there be other NPCs that play strategic roles here?

Cory Stockton: We do plan to have NPC guards who will run out of the keep to help defend it once a wall has been breached.

Once the walls of the opposing faction’s keep are breached, how does the invading force ultimately defeat their opponents?

Cory Stockton: They must enter the keep and kill the opposing faction’s general. Gates block entry into the keep until at least one keep wall has been breached.

Now that we’ve covered the major points of interest in this new Battleground, will you give a basic rundown of how you expect events to unfold in a match (i.e. where does each faction start, what is the focus of defense, what is the focus of offense, etc.)?

Cory Stockton: Players start the game inside of their keep’s courtyard. Once the battle begins, players have a choice of going to the Hangar or Docks capture points, or they can opt to head straight for the Siege Workshop in the middle of the map. The main objective is to destroy the opposing team’s keep walls so you can gain access to their general and defeat him. There are a number of ways to go about doing this but they all involve taking a capture point first. Defending your keep is also an important aspect of the game and we have provided no less than 12 gun turrets on each keep to help you out in this department.

Assuming there will be achievements associated with performing specific tasks on the Isle of Conquest, will there be any change to the “Battlemaster” meta-achievement?

Cory Stockton: Yes, we have new achievements for the Isle of Conquest but we are not sure what we are going to do with Battlemaster yet. A lot of people already have this achievement so we can’t just go and change it. We will either make a new one specifically including Isle of Conquest, or just not have it be part of a meta-achievement at all.

Community Team: Just to touch upon one last topic pertaining to World of Warcraft PvP in general, many avid Battleground players would love to see some sort of skill-based ladder system for measuring talent and providing optimal rewards.

What are our plans for the future of the Battleground system beyond 3.2, and where do you see non-Arena PvP game play fitting in the World of Warcraft, whether it be through the leveling process or at the endgame?

Cory Stockton: We plan to deliver more Battlegrounds to the players as often as we can. We see Battlegrounds as a very large and important part of the World of Warcraft PvP game and we would like to expand the system as much as we can. I do have a little tidbit that I can share with you guys today, though. We are planning to implement rated Battlegrounds in a future patch. We will be giving more details on this system at BlizzCon.

[Offhand]

With all the pally changes just announced, I can't wait to get on the PTR to play with this.

[Bareno]

Wow, intresting is all I have to say..

EDIT: @ DK tanking + UH DPS nerfs, and replenishment nerf.

[Deleted]

wow... just like the last patch, almost no mage changes (until now). It seems like mage is really fine except for fire PvP and frost PvE

Wonder if PTR is going live today. Since the patch notes are out now, I don't think we have to wait very long.

[Ave07]

So I can get t8 by running heroic Vh everyday?

[olhakio]

woho!

[felix8024]

alot of blue movement today

[Auchinfail]

Love the Eng buffs.

ROGUES GET 1h AXES?!

WTF?

[Encenoa]

AWESOME WARRIOR UPDATE!!!!

.... wait..... shit...

[Bareno]

So I can get t8 by running heroic Vh everyday?

Yes sir, looks like we can... for us casuals that is an AWESOME change...

[Drihan]

Warriors

Armored to the Teeth: This talent now provides 1/2/3 attack power per 108 armor, up from per 180 armor.

Is this all Blizzard could come up with?!

[Venris]

"Behsten Slahtz"

Get it?

[Carpe Nacht]

Nice to know after a month of working my ass off to get better in 2v2s and i finally get a decent rating(1860) that next season it will mean absolutely nothing.

for anyone wondering i run a feral druid resto shaman 2v2

[Gerendfs]

Sounds freakin awesome. Can't wait to see some of the new stuff.

[Lolatheb]

This was too fast blizzard........
Unfinished changes.............

[spf]

they didnt do nothing with shadow priest pvp again.. makes me sick.. we have to qq as much as retries to get attention?

[Shockk]

Adding a fourth tier of Emblems certainly made it neccessary to adjust the previous ones. I do not, however, see how this justifies people running heroics suddenly grabbing T8. I'm all for people getting a fair chance at gearing up for raiding - but that's basically handing out T8 to everyone and their mother.

Also, lol @ rogues and axes - where are shamans and swords?

[Gerendfs]

Nice to know after a month of working my ass off to get better in 2v2s and i finally get a decent rating(1860) that next season it will mean absolutely nothing.

for anyone wondering i run a feral druid resto shaman 2v2

Doesn't matter, it's a new season so ratings will be reset and with all the talent changes your comp may or may not suck.

[w00t22]

god i have 2 exams to study for, BUT PATCH NOTES MUST READ

[asgarth]

I really hope this is not done with the patch note... as an enhancement shaman, i hope there are more on the table than just lowered SR cooldown....