A Little Patience Video, Battle.net Championship, Blue Posts, GW2 Update, MMO Report

The Battle.net World Championship kicks off at 6:00 p.m. PST this Friday, November 16, and you can catch all the action live, FREE, and in HD over at http://www.battle.net/bwc. Tune in to watch the epic finale of the StarCraft II World Championship Series and the World of Warcraft Arena Global Finals, as some of the world’s best pro gamers battle it out for glory, cash prizes, and the coveted title of world champion.

You’ll also be able to catch the action when guilds Stars and Supreme Quicksand take to the stage to compete head to head in Challenge Mode dungeons and in the Live Raid. See the schedule below for all of the World of Warcraft events.

Friday, November 16

Stream: WOW Main

• 06:00 p.m. PST - Opening Ceremony
  
• 07:00 p.m. PST - Dungeon Challenge with Stars and Supreme Quicksand
  
• 08:15 p.m. PST - Team ROCCAT SYI vs. Team Old Boy
  
• 09:30 p.m. PST - I’m just being honest vs. Bring It
  
• 10:45 p.m. PST - Team Old Boy vs. Yaspresents
  
• 12:00 a.m. PST - Delirium Termans vs. Team ROCCAT SYI
  
• 01:15 a.m. PST - Evil Geniuses vs. DoubleG
  
• 02:30 a.m. PST - AHQ eSports Club vs. Bring It
  
• 03:45 a.m. PST - LG-IM vs. Double G

Stream: WOW 02

• 06:00 p.m. PST - Opening Ceremony
  
• 07:00 p.m. PST - Team ROCCAT SYI vs. LG-IM
  
• 08:15 p.m. PST - I’m just being honest vs. Evil Geniuses
  
• 09:30 p.m. PST - LG-IM vs. Evil Geniuses
  
• 10:45 p.m. PST - DoubleG vs. Delirium Termans
  
• 12:00 a.m. PST - AHQ eSports Club vs. I’m just being honest
  
• 01:15 a.m. PST - Team Old Boy vs. I’m just being honest
  
• 02:30 a.m. PST - Delirium Termans vs. Yaspresents
  
• 03:45 a.m. PST - Yaspresents vs. Bring It

Saturday, November 17

Stream: WOW Main

• 05:30 p.m. PST - Live Raid with Stars and Supreme Quicksand
  
• 06:45 p.m. PST - Team Old Boy vs. DoubleG
  
• 08:00 p.m. PST - WB Semi Final 1
  
• 09:30 p.m. PST - WB Final
  
• 11:00 p.m. PST - LB Round 2
  
• 12:30 a.m. PST - Grand Finals
  
• 02:30 a.m. PST - WoW Award Ceremony

Stream: WOW 02

• 05:30 p.m. PST - Evil Geniuses vs. Yaspresents
  
• 06:45 p.m. PST - Evil Geniuses vs. Bring It
  
• 08:00 p.m. PST - WB Semi Final 2
  
• 09:30 p.m. PST - LB Round 1
  
• 02:30 a.m. PST - WoW Award Ceremony

Visit the event site for the complete schedule and don’t forget to join us for the opening ceremony at 6:00p.m. PST Friday night! Read more about the Battle.net World Championship Series in our Press Release.

Heart of Fear Raid Finder Loot Issue Hotfixed
I have an update for characters that experienced this issue. Those characters have been given two Elder Charms of Good Fortune. Those charms will be added the next time those characters login. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Cross-Realm Zones Feedback
It was a feature developed to save money on server costs, but spun to the playerbase as being a positive feature to make the world feel "alive" again
You're just not correct, and you have no basis for comparison to even begin to understand any financial motivations behind the implementation of CRZ.

That's my biggest problem with a lot of the negative feedback I see on hot issues like CRZ: Not that it's negative, but that people usually need to explain the unknown by formulating what I'd define as straight-up conspiracy theories. And they spread like wildfire. We are probably in part to blame for it, but sometimes all the insights and behind-the-scenes facts just can't be shared in a meaningful way with the public. There's just not a lot to be accomplished by engaging with people who say such changes are financially driven (i.e. cost efficiency > gameplay or customer concerns), or that they provide the path of least resistance for us in terms of our production pipeline.

We come off looking very defensive purely by nature of responding to a fallacious, hyperbolic, or incredibly presumptive argument. And, yet, that somehow tends to validate a conspiracy on the forums. This is an extreme example, but I'll use it since it was posted in this very thread:

Not gonna read your propaganda, you own wowinsider and they never criticize you when you do a crappy job. Your platitudinous tripe is just orwellian speak. There is no point to feedback, you don't respect anyone's opinion on this forum, and you never acknowledge your faults. There's also no point to public test realms, you ignore all feedback given to you in those as well, their only point is to flesh out bugs, not to criticize your game design. You guys are just terrible at your jobs, and too proud to admit it
Most people probably (hopefully!) understand that this is a major leap into the deep end of connecting dots simply because those dots exist in the same space and time. And the people who truly believe this type of stuff are going to feel validated if we A) defend ourselves purely on the basis of liking things like truth and facts (even you used the term "spin" to describe this); or B) remain silent because the endless tug of war that could result is a colossal waste of organic material.

Anyway, don't get me wrong. Your criticisms are well founded. I'll keep them in mind as I continue discussing the larger points of contention in the community with our developers and executives. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Off-Spec Healing
they already said they are nerfing it.
Indeed we did. We completely agree that it is very frustrating for dedicated healers to find that off-spec healing is actually quite competitive with their own. Off-spec healers such as Shadow, Elemental, Paladin and Laser Turkey are meant to be able to output some healing - which is one of their benefits - but they shouldn't be able to replace a dedicated healer. The plan we have right now is to make PvP power only enhance either your damage or healing depending on the spec that you have chosen.

Check out the blog by Ghostcrawler on Mists of Pandaria PvP here: http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/blog/6415071

So, all Paladins are off spec healers no?

Guess it does not matter, Ret was made with one defensive mechanism, healing, after that gets nerfed (And lol, Ret healing is nerf worthy?) not a single person will play Ret, so I would like to congratulate u for destroying Ret.
I was referring to Retribution Paladins in my post specifically and as they have the ability to assist their entire team with healing on-demand through the use of their abilities, they are able to off-heal. I will edit my first post to specify Retribution Paladins for you.

It is also not entirely true that healing is the only defensive ability that you have, Paladins also have as I am sure your aware, Divine Shield, Divine Protection, Hand of Protection, Lay on hands and also while weaker if this change occurs, heals. There are other abilities in the Pally arsenal that can be used defensively as well, so stating that heals is the only way a Paladin has to protect themselves and others is not entirely true. Do remember that you would still have your heals, while weaker they could still help in keeping both you and your team alive.

Understand that this is also not a definite change, it is simply something that we are considering to deal with the high healing numbers that are seen from some off-spec healers. We greatly welcome your feedback and thoughts on this, so please continue to provide it.

I hope this is just a bad joke. Divine Protection, 20% less damage on a 60sec cooldon can hardly be called a defensive mechanism. Divine shield is a good ability, but 5 min cooldown? c'mon. You can't use Lay on Hands in the arena, nor can you use Hand of protection if you used Divine Shield.

So basically you say that we have a nice array of defensive spells in the arena: 8 sec immunity on 5 min CD (instantly removable by Priests, Druids, Warriors), and 20% less damage on an 1 min CD. WoW. You are a PvP hero.
I am not commenting on how great, useful or even terrible certain defensive abilities are, I am simply stating that there are additional defensive abilities available other than healing. Lay on Hands was more referring to the array of defensive abilities that are available, not that it is usable in arena specifically. I did also state that there are abilities that I have not yet mentioned, such as defensive CC as well as escape abilities that can help you get away, like Hand of Freedom and the first tier talent.

And we have 20-25k healings after the patch goes live.
Woah ...wait, what? This is in what patch notes now?
As I already said, this is a change we are considering and is not in any way definite or final. So continue to give your feedback on off-spec healers and possible changes, we are listening to it. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Day Two of the Battle.net World Championship starts with a bang as two of China’s top raiding guilds, Stars and Supreme Quicksand face off in an exhibition live raid to clear Mogu’shan Vaults with the fastest time. Tune in to the live stream on November 18 at 02:30 CET to witness the competition.

This challenge is sure to test both guilds’ skill and coordination. The competing players will need to plumb the depths of the Mogu'shan Vaults, choosing a raid composition and strategy that strikes a precarious balance between speed and safety. Do they attempt the run with fewer healers than the norm, to edge out their competitors and eke out precious seconds on the clock, but risking a catastrophic wipe? Or do they go with a tried and true strategy, secure in the belief that steady (but not slow!) wins the race?

Each battle presents its own unique challenges, but there are a few that could make or break each guild’s attempt. The Spirit Kings encounter is perhaps the most taxing fight in the Vaults and is sure to be a pivotal moment. We can expect to see both groups play it safe here, because all it may take to secure victory might be succeeding on the first attempt while the other group falters. It’s notable that they will be facing a special version of The Spirit Kings where each foe attacks in the same order, to ensure that the competition remains on an even footing.

Meanwhile, both the Gara'jal the Spiritbinder and the Will of the Emperor encounters will require the groups to divide their damage between their main target and lesser minions. If they devote too little to the boss they risk falling behind on the clock, but if they devote too little to minions they risk becoming overwhelmed and suffering a wipe that could cost them time on the clock… and victory.

Meet the Raiders
Our colleagues in China recently had a chance to talk with guild leaders Bluewind of Stars, and Crayon Xiaobu of Supreme Quicksand, who will each lead their incredibly talented teams against one another in the Dungeon Challenge and live raid competitions. We’ve translated the interviews into English for your reading pleasure. You’ll find that, while these leaders hold each other in high esteem, both are prepared to fight for victory this weekend in Shanghai.

Interview with Bluewind of Stars

Q. To start, let’s talk about your progress through Mogu’Shan Vaults. Are you satisfied with the results? How are you approaching Heart of Fear and future Mists of Pandaria raid content?
A. Actually, we’re not satisfied with the progress we’ve had in Mogu’Shan Vaults, and made a postmortem for this “failure” after we cleared it. It’s a really tough time for us now. Our raid team is composed of veterans and new recruits, as some of the once-hardcore members have become casual. Our team is in the middle of a training period, while their skill level is comparable with that of the veterans, new recruits need more experience. We didn’t consider this as a big issue, while we found out in the end that it really was. This is perhaps why we didn’t achieve the goal we had set for ourselves. Nevertheless, we are working hard for the live raid preparation -- been practicing a lot of Mogu’Shan runs and gave everyone quite some pressure. The new bloods are improving, and our gear is now good enough to meet the new challenge: Heart of Fear. After all, I would say I’m very confident for the next two raid dungeons.

Q. Can you share with us the Stars procedure of learning new boss encounters?
A. We always play hard when we confront a new boss, about 8-10 hours a day, which might be a bit shorter than other top guilds, but what we do more is that we sum-up and ponder over.
Generally speaking, we’ll always take a quick trial of new bosses on PTR, having a brief impression of the boss. But it’s hard to do well on PTR, so we still need to make a plan that we try to cover everything that could happen in the encounter. This always takes us 2-3 days. Once the boss goes on the live realm, we’ll check our plan at the first moment in the live environment and make some adjustments. We always spend much time discussing, but we always enjoy the procedure.

Q. BWC is at hand! Are you prepared?
A. We have done some preparations for the speed runs -- took much time in learning or practicing the encounters. It’s hard to say whether we’re prepared, or whether we can defeat our opponent. As you know, Supreme Quicksand is a top guild that only spent 1 hour, 13 minutes, and 59 seconds finishing 25H Dragon Soul. They are very strong and powerful, but we will do our best to give everyone a wonderful competition.

Q. Are there any effects the BWC competitions will have on your raid progress? Are you looking forward to BWC?
A. There are, of course. The BWC event takes place when the Terrace of Endless Spring opens, so there will be some influences. But the BWC invitation is definitely a great honor. It has always been a dream for me, and for other guild members as well, to communicate with the game developers. So we’ll do anything we can to work with Blizzard for the event. I’m really looking forward to BWC. To compete against great opponents, to attend the convention, it will be an amazing experience for all of us.

Interview with Crayon Xiaobu of Supreme Quicksand

Q: Can you give us a brief introduction for your guild? When and how it was built?
A: Our guild was called SEED, and was reformed into Supreme Quicksand in December 2005. Some of the former guild mates followed me; together with some new blood we established Supreme Quicksand as it is today. Our goal is to play WoW together without a negative impact on our work and everyday life, so here we are.

Q: In a recent live raid event, you beat out five of the top Chinese guilds in Heroic 25-player Dragon Soul with a clear time of 1 hour, 13 minutes, and 59 seconds, and now you make your way to BWC to face Stars. Do you like to participating in competitions like this?
A: Of course we like it. It is really a good chance to show our guild to others, and also to learn from others.

Q: Did you watch Athene’s Dragon Soul Challenge that took place on May 12, where Stars came out the victor? What do you think about your BWC opponent?
A: Yes, I have watched that one. Stars has always been a great opponent, and a coach to China guilds as well. We have been watching them since Patch 1.9, and we learned much from their videos. Their strategies have provided helpful information for our learning of the encounters. After the Dragon Soul Challenge, we watched the Stars live raid video again and again, and we practiced about ten times. But even with better gear we didn’t make it to break Stars’ record. So for the Live Raid at BWC, we know we don’t have enough chance to win, but we’ll do our best to bring a wonderful competition to the audience.

Q: In addition to the live raid, the Dungeon Challenge is awaiting you. Are you ready for it?
A: When we tried the challenge mode right after hitting level 90, we wiped again and again. It is really challenging like the name suggests, but also fun. After some practice, we did our best to find all the possible ways to shorten the time. Now that more raid dungeons are unlocked, we usually focus on the raid part. But we did some homework both on raids and challenge mode. We practiced and made plans for them.