Patch 4.2 Hotfixes - August 16
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Classes
  • Threat
    • Threat generation for all tanks has been increased to 500%, up from 300%. This applies to warriors in Defensive Stance, death knights in Blood Presence, druids in Bear Form, and paladins with Righteous Fury.
    • Vengeance should no longer be generated when damage is fully absorbed by damage shields. When the shield breaks from damage or damage is partially absorbed, the amount of Vengeance generated is equal to the full amount of damage taken (including the damage absorbed.)
    • More information can be found in our latest Dev Watercooler.

Dungeons & Raids
Baradin Hold
  • Occu’thar has come into a larger supply of PvE gear than he previously possessed.

Firelands
  • Hell Hounds should now be nigh impossible for a single player to kill.
  • The Grab Bag dropped by all Firelands bosses should now occasionally contain Crystallized Firestones in Heroic difficulty.

Baleroc
  • Baleroc should now always choose Inferno Blade the first time he casts Blades of Baleroc.

Beth’tilac
  • Beth'tilac now does slightly less damage on normal difficulty.

Lord Rhyolith
  • The explosion damage radius of each Magma Meteor just before Lord Rhyolith should now more closely match their spell effect visuals.
  • Volcanoes should no longer emit plumes of smoke while they are dormant.
  • Concussive Stomp should no longer knock nearby players back.
  • Magma Flow lines are now 30 yards long, down from 40 yards.
  • Rhyolith now activates volcanoes less often on normal difficulty.
  • Stepping on an active volcano now removes 16 stacks of armor, up from 10.

Majordomo Fandral Staghelm
  • All threat generated in this encounter has been reduced in Heroic difficulty.

Ragnaros
  • Ragnaros’s Sons of Flame should now be immune to silence effects.

Shannox
  • Shannox, Riplimb and Rageface have all had their damage reduced slightly on normal difficulty.

Quests
  • Players should now be able to keep the Quest Giver buff from the quest Welcome to the Machine in Hillsbrad Foothills.

Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
GC's latest blog: Active Mitigation Playstyle
Right now it's tough for DK tanks because they're the only ones on anything resembling an active mitigation model. The one active mitigation guy is going to look like he's working harder than the passive mitigation guys because, in a lot of ways, he is. If all tanks had worked this way from the start, it would be the norm, and nobody would be worried about jumping onto that model.

We've already established that threat isn't making for very compelling encounter design, and removing it offers us the ability to get creative with some of the mechanics that we're using; both in encounter and class design. In a world with no threat management, and no active mitigation, that doesn't leave a lot for tanks to do though. We think that making tanking more active, and focusing that activity around mitigation (which feels immediately useful) will generate some very rewarding gameplay. We want the act of tanking to be engaging, interesting and fun. We think the path forward will offer more of that for all the tanking classes.

Also, I've seen a number of references to making tanking easier in this thread and elsewhere. "Easier" isn't really the goal. The goal is to discard a mechanic which we don't think is working particularly well anymore, and replace it with something more focused and interesting. Doing so should also have the effect of allowing tanks who aren't as geared still do their job when grouped with players who outgear (or even outlevel them a bit). They'll still be responsible for doing a good job, but their absolute ability to hold the attention of the boss won't be a factor; their ability to play well and mitigate damage will be.

We're aware of player concerns about Blood tanking, and we'll work to ensure that Blood tanking will continue to be viable and effective into the future. On that note, we're interested in addressing some of the concerns that have been expressed about the spec (potentially as soon as the next major patch), though we want to accomplish that goal without sacrificing what sets the spec apart and makes it interesting. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Cross-Realm Raid Finder
We have some plans. They're good plans. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

US Battle.net Invitational VoDs
The results are in! The North American Battle.net Invitational World of Warcraft Arena competition, held last week at Blizzard Entertainment headquarters, has come to its thrilling conclusion. The first nine qualifier matches are now available on the official BlizzCon community site. Want to see who advances toward glory, riches, and the chance to compete live at BlizzCon 2011? You can check out the matches from the first day of competition now. Be sure to get caught up on all the action, as we’ll be posting the remaining matchups in the near future, revealing which two teams duke it out in the Grand Finals, and ultimately who will be competing at BlizzCon this October. Don’t fall victim to spoilers. Watch the matches. Enjoy the spectacle. Profit!

If you’re curious about the order in which the matches are being released, we’ve made sure to align them according to how they played out last week. You’ll be able to see the tournament brackets update in the correct order as you watch each of the matches. We thank you for your patience as we prepared these brutal bouts for public consumption. (Blue Tracker / Official Blog)

Discounted Shipping From FigurePrints Until 15 September
Take advantage of this hot summer deal by getting discounted rates on shipping to Europe for all World of Warcraft FigurePrints ordered from now until 15 September. If you've been considering a custom World of Warcraft character statue of your own, now is the perfect time to save some cash.

If you’ve never seen a FigurePrint, check out their gallery of characters and the “FigurePrints - How They Are Made” movie. FigurePrints are one-of-a-kind, custom statues of your World of Warcraft characters that present a three-dimensional snapshot of your in-game history. FigurePrints statues are equipped with the actual weapons and armor your character wears, and you sentimental types can choose from any of the items you’ve got stashed away. You can even choose from a variety of poses for your character to be immortalized in.

Visit FigurePrints.com for more information or to place an order. (Blue Tracker / Official Blog)

WoW TCG: Twilight of the Dragons Now In Stores
Deathwing the Destroyer has arrived in the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game and he’s brought both the Twilight and Black dragonflights with him. Tainted by corrupt magic before they were hatched, the Twilight dragons threaten to bring an age of darkness to the land. Unleash their fiery fury as you crack open packs of Twilight of the Dragons, in stores now.

Embrace the chaos and ally with Nefarian, Cho’gall, and Sinestra, or defend Azeroth against their assault by joining Thrall, Caelestrasz, Merithra, Arygos, Anachronos, and the elemental ascendants.In this time of great peril, will you join Deathwing’s forces or defend against it? Choose your side and prepare for war!

Please note, these cards are only available in English. (Blue Tracker / Official Blog)

API: Completed quests available
I'm happy to announce that completed quests have been added to the character profile API resource. By using the 'fields' query string parameter to include the 'quests' value, the character profile returned will include a list of quest ids that the character has completed.

Example: http://us.battle.net/api/wow/charact...?fields=quests (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Comics
NerfNow #561 is especially relevant today!

This article was originally published in forum thread: August 16 Hotfixes, Blue Posts, Comics started by chaud View original post
Comments 96 Comments
  1. bondgirl's Avatar
    Baradin Hold Occu’thar has come into a larger supply of PvE gear than he previously possessed.
    HAHAHAHA. Does Blizz lie on purpose. 3 25mans today and 3 times full pvp loot. Gj I guess
  1. ihateyouall's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by BondGirl View Post
    HAHAHAHA. Does Blizz lie on purpose. 3 25mans today and 3 times full pvp loot. Gj I guess
    "Some of the hotfixes below will go live the moment they are implemented, while others may require your realm to be restarted to go into effect."
  1. mmoce107d4ab3d's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by slappy102 View Post
    Is the 16 stack removal on Rhyolith on heroic too?
    Think ive read a post it was only on normal, only the knockback got nerfed on hc

    ---------- Post added 2011-08-17 at 11:16 AM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by tipzi View Post
    Firelands nerf already ? seriously ?
    Its only normal, who cares about normals anyways?
  1. Rioo's Avatar
    DK tanks the only tanks with active mitigation? My druid would like a word with Blizz.(not saying it's as hard as DK tanking tho)
  1. ZeroWashu's Avatar
    So Blizzard is going to do for tanking what they did for healing? Or will they get it right this time?
  1. mmocb30964fcfc's Avatar
    finally tank threat increase... warrior tank was just terrible.
  1. mmocc3388425cb's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Resentful View Post
    Oh jeez, they wrecked Ryaolilth pretty hard

    Good though; Hes a terrible boss
    are you kiding me?he is so easy,probaly most easy fight in fl,everything geting nerfe but ragy...
  1. Dejohn's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Dyrving View Post
    If people are having problem keeping aggro it's because of lack of rotation skills. If it brings something alse I have to focus on it's fine though, I like min/maxing my mitigation abilities.
    Or they could be still gearing in troll heroics and have to out threat some geared player pulling 30k+ dps. Especially when its against the Skill rotation of a Frost DK or an Arcane mage. This change is good imo.
  1. Alraml's Avatar
    I'm not sure of the wording on Rhyolith"Concussive stomp should no longer knock players back"They make it sound like it was never meant to in the first place. Rhyolith becomes even easier. I can sorta see what they mean with Beth since her damage can be pretty spikey when you go upstairs
  1. kittenboots's Avatar
    beth did enough damage on normal to warrant being nerfed? what?
  1. mmoce23f7ce83a's Avatar
    Welcoming the change to Rhyolith, he was the only one where it would take more than a 1 shot to kill, each Thursday we go 6/7 and Raggy on Tuesdays, Rhyolith was the only boss where i wasn't sure how long it would take for us to kill him, purely based on the randomness of Volcano spawning and activating, like 3 volcanoes at his feet straight off and stomps them all before we can even turn him GG.
  1. mmoca95867a668's Avatar
    Took me a while to actually get that comic, but when i got it omg i lold so hard...
    It is infact, the only comic ive ever found properly funny aswell, jus sayin
  1. F-Minus's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Bog View Post
    are you kiding me?he is so easy,probaly most easy fight in fl,everything geting nerfe but ragy...
    He is easy if the RNG volcanos don't fuck you up and the turn speed after stomp vs. turn speed without stomping which all in all makes the encounter kind of retarded. But yes if all goes according to plan, he is the easiest boss around, still way to random.

    They should also take a look a seeds on Domo, which are also kind of bs. If you're a healer and you get a short seed, your raid is fine, if you get a seed on a long timer, your raid could be fine, but could also be dead.

    All this random stuff makes some bosses less and less enjoyable.
  1. mmocac610ba31b's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by BondGirl View Post
    HAHAHAHA. Does Blizz lie on purpose. 3 25mans today and 3 times full pvp loot. Gj I guess
    I'm not sure how you interpreted the change as "Occu'thar is now guaranteed to drop at least one PvE item.". Nor how another poster read it as "Occu'thar will now drop more items.". It simply says his loot table includes more PvE items.
  1. Missdirect's Avatar
    I truely don't understand the Beth/Shannox nerfs, they hardly seemed to do enough damage to warrant nerfing. Thrilled about the Rhyo nerfs, not because he's hard per se, just incredibly annoying.
  1. mmoc94162f50f7's Avatar
    More nerfs please. Fights were already too easy.......
  1. Granyala's Avatar
    The 3 doors in the second panel.... hilarious.
  1. VanishO2's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Dejohn View Post
    Or they could be still gearing in troll heroics and have to out threat some geared player pulling 30k+ dps. Especially when its against the Skill rotation of a Frost DK or an Arcane mage. This change is good imo.
    Luck of the Draw buff, deal with it.

    ---------- Post added 2011-08-17 at 11:21 AM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by epec View Post
    It's ironic they're changing threat for tanks because it's not the issue behind the lack of tanks at all. Decent tanks never had an issue holding aggro, even in early cata. The problem comes when tanks want to progress. You could be the best possible class for a tank (paladin) with decent gear and a good rep while trying to app to a decent guild, you'd have a very very hard time finding a guild that would take you. The problem is tanks just don't scale compared to dps. 1 for 5 mans, 2 for 10 mans, maybe 3 for 25 mans. Now, if this actually scaled correctly, 25 man content would need 5 tanks to maintain a good ratio (5 tanks, 15 dps, and 5 healers but it doesn't work that way) Most guilds are doing 25 man content because it's easier and gives more loot. They already have their 3 tanks setup. Tanks have no place in pvp as well, only pve. So, once a tank finishes his 5 man grind, where does he go? On the shelf.
    No place in pvp? LOL.
  1. TBK1001's Avatar
    Blizz is so ridiculous. This is from a 2010 Blue Post regarding their Rage goal for Cataclysm: "Our goal is for each character's Rage to not be always high or always low, but rather a resource that needs to be managed properly by the player." Now, of course, it's "We expect the community to gradually stop using threat-tracking mods as players realize they don’t need them."

    They begin the Watercoool Rage post with "One of the fun things about working on an MMO is that the game design will evolve over time, and you have the opportunity to make changes to reflect those design shifts." Complete smoke and mirrors, typical Blizz gibberish and obfuscation. Properly translated, it should read "It's all organic, we aren't backtracking, or cleaning up our own mess, these changes have nothing to do with our own incompetence."

    Flip-flops like this, with Blizz not even bothering to admit and apologize that they got it completely wrong, are the primary reason I left WoW months ago. I continue to check up on it though, because now, rather then being frustrated by Blizzard's idiotic development decisions and arrogance, I can just laugh at them.

    The thing is, given Blizz's history over the last couple of years, I have absolutely no confidence that this decision will be permanent in any sense. It wouldn't surprise me one bit to see them flip-flop back in six months, and then flip again down the road. Blizzard would call that 'evolution'. Me, I call it the byproduct of lousy decision-making.
  1. VanishO2's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Duntix View Post
    I call bollocks on this. He was already extremely easy it took my guild all of around 8 wipes to down him. And none of us had any heroic gear and we are by no means amazing(40+ wipes on alysrazor to kill her). This is going to make our progression nights go faster now I guess.
    Because the problem is driving him, not killing him.

    Ppl having problem driving him to the volcanos go on thinking the problem is lack of gear to not put him on P2 faster or stand more and more active volcanos debuff...

    ---------- Post added 2011-08-17 at 11:26 AM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by Hokuto View Post
    It means that dps with full Concentration rocking 60k dps won't rip threat off you during the first scorpion phase.

    Yes, that can be an issue in raids without hunters/rogues, specially on 10.
    "Tank threat increased by 800%" inc, lol.

    ---------- Post added 2011-08-17 at 11:27 AM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by savvasp View Post
    Wonder where Occuthar gets the gear :/
    From ppl he kills.

    The problem is that most of the players go there with pvp gear... lol

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