No Item Upgrades, 5.2 LFR Item Level, PTR Class Balance, Blue Posts, Weekly Roundup

Patch 1.0.7 Preview

Patch 5.2 - No Item Upgrades
Ghostcrawler clarified his previous statement and let us know that no gear will be upgraded at all once Patch 5.2 is released, as the NPC will be removed.



Patch 5.2 - LFR Item Level Requirement
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Just wanted to share some updated info we have with you guys: At this moment our intent is to change Thunder King’s LFR ilvl requirement to 480, we also want to lower the Honor gear in patch 5.2 from 483 to 476, compensating with some bonus PvP stats, so that the gear remains as powerful for PvP but not allow players to use it as a quick shortcut into LFR.

Like always, everything is subject to change, we’re still in PTR stage folks! And we all know that even on live things can still change, while we always strike to avoid doing that (and that’s why we have a PTR), gameplay comes first, so if a change is urgently needed, we do our best to apply it as fast as possible.

PTR Class and Set Bonus Issues
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
PvP Power
  • On live, PvP Power grants 0% healing to Balance, Feral, Windwalker, Retribution, Shadow, Enhancement and Elemental. In the next 5.2 build, this number will be 25% (or half of what a healing spec gets). We agree that PvP healing feels too weak for these hybrid classes. We also don't think Shadow really needs this buff, so we will likely offset it in other ways.
  • We are working on a blog (hopefully next week) to explain some of the other changes to PvP gear in 5.2. We hear your concerns and are trying to address them.

Paladin (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  • The Protection 2pc is additive. It's duration is 5sec per Holy Power. We realize there are concerns about this enabling block capping, and are keeping an eye on this, and will adjust if necessary to make sure it doesn’t happen, even later in the expansion.
  • The Protection 4pc does incentivize Unbreakable Spirit. We’re considering possible revisions but want to try it like this for now. It's currently "You gain 1 Holy Power for each 20% of your health taken as damage while Divine Protection is active."
  • The Retribution 2pc is a debuff on the target, and does not stack or roll. With Glyph of Mass Exorcism, the debuff will be applied to all targets hit by the Exorcism. It affects all of your Holy damage. Yes, that includes Seal of Truth, Censure ticks, and Hand of Light. Censure ticks are affected per tick
  • whether it was up when Censure was applied doesn't matter. It functions similar to the increased magic damage taken raid debuff, except is Holy-only and self-only. Clipping some debuffs when you get back to back Art of War procs is expected, and balanced around.
  • The Retribution 4pc does grant a self-buff that is consumed by the next TV, and does not stack. Wasting some procs is expected, and balanced around. Yes it is a single-target benefit that won't increase DPS on AE fights. We don't want to be in such a limited design space (we're talking about the 15th tier here after all) that every set bonus must be super generic and work in every situation. If anything, we'd rather the Ret bonus be even higher for single-target and paladins will just be stronger at single-target and weaker at AE once they have the set bonus than they are in other tiers. Set bonuses are one of the few chances we have to change what your character does (within reason) aside from all of your numbers just getting bigger.
  • We changed the Repentance cast time to make it consistent with other cast time crowd control. A 1.5 sec cast time (reduced by haste) gives little opportunity for interruption.

Rogue (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  • During Shuriken Toss, your auto attacks are replaced with throwing Shurikens, which do 80% weapon damage, but are on the 'yellow combat table', meaning they don't glance, and don't suffer the Dual Wield miss penalty. The 80% number was chosen because that approximately offsets those other benefits.
  • In our above description of Blade Flurry, 'normal' means the same as it previously did; that is to say, the damage that the ability would have done had it hit the secondary target.
  • The 2pc does encourage using Rupture as Combat.
  • Burst of Speed saying "movement-reducing" means that it no longer breaks roots, but does break snares.
  • We are experimenting with allowing Smoke Bomb to reduce the damage done to allies by 20%. We agree that rogues are lacking in the group utility department and we'd like to see less use of Smoke Bomb strictly as an offensive ability in PvP.
  • We are going to reduce the PvP set bonus from +50 energy to +30 energy.

Monk (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  • Storm, Earth, and Fire does not affect Xuen's damage. The spirits benefit from your Tiger Eye Brew. We agree that a spell with "storm, earth and fire" in the name sounds like a shaman spell, but Warcraft 3 established it as a Pandaren monk ability.
  • The Mistweaver 2pc is multiplicative. The first target gets normal healing, the second gets 115% of normal, and the third gets 132.25% of normal.

Hunter (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  • The 2pc and 4pc both can crit.
  • Direhorn Stampede are everything you dream them to be.

Druid (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  • Please note that Restoration Mushrooms are currently incorrectly absorbing 33% of overheal each, instead of 25%.

Shaman (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  • The Elemental 4pc does trigger from Overloads.
  • We're still iterating on the cooldown/potency/duration of Elemental Mastery. In the next PTR build, it will likely be a 90 sec cooldown.
  • We are experimenting with removing the attenuation of Chain Lightning. This means Chain Lightning won't do less damage on subsequent targets.

Priest (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  • The Shadow 2pc does impact Shadow Word: Insanity, which we're working to resolve. It extends existing effects, preserving their same damage (not recalculating).
  • We are considering making the glyphs of Desperation and Inner Focus passive for Discipline.
  • We are considering giving Focused Will to Holy as well as Discipline.
  • We did not buff PvP Power for healer damage as we did for DPS healing. However, we believe that Discipline specifically might need more damage. One potential solution is to nerf Atonement healing but raise damage so there is no net healing change.

Warlock (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  • With the 2pc, an Incinerate crit has an 8% chance to generate 4/10 of an ember. Yes, this will apply to Fire and Brimstone Incinerate.
  • We are strongly considering allowing Dark Intent to provide Stamina so that warlocks don't feel like they must use their imp.

Warrior (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  • A Prot Warrior using 2 pieces of the DPS set will get 1.0 RPPM of the Enrage.
  • We agree with concerns that the new Arms rotation doesn't involve much rage management. We are considering a small rage cost for Overpower. Arms will likely need some additional retuning of damage because of the changes to Overpower, Taste for Blood and Slam
  • we haven't completed tuning yet.
  • We made a change to warriors to double the effect of haste for them. This is similar to the shaman Flurry benefit, but is passive and not tied to an ability. We want to make haste a better stat for warriors without it eclipsing stats like crit
  • we aren't trying to force every warrior to reforge.

Promises
We're not making any (except maybe that Direhorn Stampede bit). We're providing you some notes of changes we are currently trying in order to provide you context for some of the other class changes. Many of these may not make it to the live game -- that is the nature of a PTR. As always, we appreciate feedback on any of this.

Monk (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  • Storm, Earth, and Fire: The spirits will not mirror non-damaging abilities like Leg Sweep or Charging Ox Wave. They will mirror damaging abilities like Chi Wave. In the cases of damaging abilities that also heal (Chi Wave, Zen Sphere, and Chi Burst), their healing and yours is reduced. But for other heals which aren’t mirrored (like Healing Sphere, Blackout Kick from the front, or consuming a Healthstone), it won’t reduce the healing. In the case of Zen Sphere, the spirits will cast it on themselves when you cast it on anyone. Note that many of these things aren’t working yet, but should in the next PTR build, or perhaps the one after that. Also, in the next PTR build, attempting to cast it on a target that already has one of your spirits on it will recall that spirit.

Shaman (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  • The Enhancement 4pc triggers each time Windfury procs, not for each attack it generates.

Paladin (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  • If you have the Protection 2pc, casting Word of Glory again when you already have the block buff will replace the existing buff, if the new one is longer duration. It won’t extend.
  • The Protection 4pc will not count for Holy Avenger.

Priest (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  • The Healing 2pc causes each Prayer of Mending Heal to heal for 10% more than the last; it’s multiplicative. 100%->110%->121%->133%->146%.

Druid (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  • The Restoration 4pc causes each Rejuvenation tick to heal for 6% more than the last; it’s multiplicative. 100%->106%->112%->119%->126%->134%->etc.

Warrior (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)

Hunter (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  • Some have asked why the 2pc procs more often for Survival than Marksmanship. Marksmanship typically has more haste than Survival, such as from Steady Focus. (Remember, RealPPM proc rates scale with your haste).

Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Throne of Thunder and Mounts
Finally, I think we need to be able to mount in that instance. I think travel time is just going to be way too much of a problem otherwise.
The fact that you cannot currently mount in the exterior ruins section of the zone is a bug. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

PvP Gear Changes Blog Post
Other than the blog that you have linked from October, is there anything else you can "hint" to us that is more recent that we can possibly expect in the near future?
Not just yet. Soon™. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Blue Tweets
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
World
Incentive to explore has always been a weak point in WoW,Can we expect more achievements like "Lost and Found" to remedy this?
We just have to make exploring really exploring and not download a mod / visit a website. (Source)

just wanted to clarify something r u now or have you ever been completely or partially against flying mounts?
It's not that simple. It would be hard to remove them, yet we don't like how they minimize exploration, travel & sense of danger. (Source)
Isnt minimizing travel the whole point of a mount? Also, they dont minimize exploration, in my case they improve it
The journey is a big (biggest?) part of most fantasy tales. For me, exploration needs a hint of danger to be interesting. (Source)
that doesn't really answer my question
It's not a question with a simple answer. Sorry. If I could go back in time, I would argue for much stricter limits on them. (Source)
I remember reading a PvP blog that flying mounts made escaping too easy, do you think "hardened shell" is enough?
It was just an experiment to see how it felt. (Source)

Do you feel like CRZ takes away the one advantage small pop servers had of less competition for rare spawns?
We don't really want small pop servers to have advantages though. We think larger pop servers are more fun. (Source)

I know u r concerned about the role of guilds in xrealm raiding, but isn't the point of being n a guild 2 b with ppl u like?
There are still benefit in realm community. Queuing features are a necessary evil, not because we don't value community. (Source)

Misc
I have friends who've already tried the expac. They got to 90 and they've already given up, "I have to log in EVERY day....!?"
The opposite extreme is "Why am I playing this game? I log in once a week and then there is nothing else to do." (Source)

Remember, while convenience is nice, accomplishments are rewarding. Accomplishments with too much convenience may not feel rewarding. (Source)
Parapharsing someone I can't recall: "We don't play this game because it is easy, we play it because it is hard."
In China, I hear a lot: I don't play the game because it's fun. I play for prestige. (Source)

Being a casual has nothing to do with what GC is saying.
In fact casual players are probably more likely to opt out of hard content for which rewards will be quickly replaced.
Also i believe the "accomplishment envy" faction is small. And why should a game be catered to envy?
.It's not about that. It's "Why should I bother on this tough boss when the new content will just invalidate all the gear anyway?" (Source)

yes it does. I wish GC would just announce once and for all the game is tailored for the hardcores.
It's not. Not sure there are 10 million hardcore players in the world. (Source)

More and more people are heading to private vanilla servers, why not just make an official one?
We don't want to maintain two versions of the game (and we don't believe that the vanilla crowd would be happy with no support). (Source)

Nobody cares about dummy dps because there is no movement involved and such bosses dont exist in mop.
If only that were true. Players use simulated dummy dps as evidence all the time. (Source)

Diablo III Patch 1.0.7 Preview
The Patch 1.0.7 PTR is coming soon, but Blizzard released a nice preview of what to expect. For the full details, check out the entire post on Diablofans!

  • You are now able to duel other players. There is no scorekeeping system or objectives, just combat in four areas with up to four players.
  • Some minor balancing (buffs) to the Wizard and Monk classes.
  • New rare crafting recipes that are purchased, world drops, or have a chance to drop from certain bosses when you have five stacks of Nephalem Valor.
  • Another new tier of gems, Marquise gems.
  • Monster Power support in public games and increased experience bonuses for all MP levels.
  • Other small monster changes and quality of life improvements.



Curse Weekly Roundup
In this week's roundup: Blizzard announces they've raised 2.3 million dollars for Sandy victims, Curse has an exclusive with the team from God of War, Cyberpunk rocks the world with their debut trailer, and Black Ops 2 wins big this year.

This article was originally published in forum thread: No Item Upgrades, 5.2 LFR Item Level, PTR Class Balance, Blue Posts, Weekly Roundup started by chaud View original post
Published on 2013-01-12 09:01 AM
113 Comments
Comments 113 Comments
  1. Granyala's Avatar
    Well, guess I have to go on the official forums and advocate for the return of item upgrades, but with prices adjusted for item strength
    Agreed. It's a bit retarded, that upping your wrists costs as much as upping your chest or weapons.

    Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
    The Shadow 2pc does impact Shadow Word: Insanity, which we're working to resolve.
    Just get rid of that bullshit talent. No shadow in his right mind uses it anyway lol.
  1. mmoc112630d291's Avatar
    Still no single target buffs for Elemental Shamans. Ghostcrawler is delusional.
  1. mmocb47e9d5b09's Avatar
    NICE! Item upgrade was just dumb. Spend hours farming gear and then more hours slightly upgrading them to be marginally better.

    If they ever interoduce item upgrades again, it should be for weapons only or they should reduce the cost for upgrading by ALOT.

    Glad to see it go in 5.2
  1. Granyala's Avatar
    Glad to see it go in 5.2
    Me 2. I liked the fact that in Cata there was a point where I didn't need to bother with Valor anymore.
  1. HentaiHero's Avatar
    Good. Item upgrades ACTUALLY made it feel like I had to play every day, unlike dailies.
  1. whathump's Avatar
    I've enjoyed the item upgrades. Gives at least some use of valor rather than no use for those who do heroic raiding.
  1. Myzou's Avatar
    Am I the only one happy they're removing item updates?

    I agree with Ghostcrawler - Valor Gear AND Upgrades make Valor overwhelming and makes people feel like they HAVE to hit the 1k cap a week.
  1. mmocf0a8756358's Avatar
    still nothing about dk's do they really think there fine when there not even a vaible class in arena anymore unless u go blood, but i guess the reason dk's arnt here is cos we can just shift into blood presence in frost for our survivability needs thanks ghostfag crawler
  1. mmoc4359933d3d's Avatar
    Glad to see the back of item upgrade. I simply don't have the time nor the willpower to grind out extra dungeons or LFR on top of my actual raiding. Having to make myself do it knowing I'm missing out on power increases otherwise was annoying.
  1. Sanguinesun's Avatar
    Curse weekly roundup: horrible horrible horrible. He really needs to clean up, trim, and get a better wardrobe coordinator. (That jacket looks like it came from the salvation army.)
  1. mmocef5954df4d's Avatar
    Bleh. I don't have much time to play, but at least I could hope to slowly build valor and upgrade the blue/purple upgradable gear I have until I get enough ilevel to LFR.
  1. mmoc3dde1cb131's Avatar
    I think the plan is that in a new raid patch there will be nice gear to buy with your Valor.

    They also seem to be saying that not all of it will be behind rep which is good plan!

    It sounds like they are planning on reintroducing the upgrade vendor in non raid patches.

    It is all a fine balancing act!
  1. Jeremypwnz's Avatar
    I think item upgrading should still be available for the Justice Points and Honor gear, mostly justice. Mostly because some people can't get lucky with loot and will continue to be stuck with that 1-2 463 items, be it their mains or alts, come 5.2 and beyond. Other than that, I don't particularly care that item upgrading will be gone.
  1. Sting's Avatar
    Well, that just makes it even more important for serious raiders to keep capping their valor if the upgrade system gets removed in 5.2. Guilds whose members have pushed their valor every week and obtained the maximum number of upgrades are gonna have a slight advantage for the new tier.
  1. mmoc37672be2a3's Avatar
    Can someone remember to Ghostcrawler on the US forums that Druid has not only a restoration spec?
    That no one really cares about mushrooms because they can absorb as much overhealing you want, that healing will be overhealing too !
    Balance druids are still left with Wrath hitting like a wet noodle, NO mobile Dps, Mighty Bash getting dodged and parried and requiring melee range for a ranged spec, Ridiculous sustained damage, and finally our burst getting reduced with the NV nerf.

    Ferals are still left with a Cyclone that shares DR with everything, lasts 6 sec and has a 30sec CD
  1. Ineras's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Sanguinesun View Post
    Curse weekly roundup: horrible horrible horrible. He really needs to clean up, trim, and get a better wardrobe coordinator. (That jacket looks like it came from the salvation army.)
    Whew, at least I'm not the only person who wishes he would fix himself up a bit better.

    And I think part of the reason for removing the valor upgrade in 5.2 is due to there being better ilvl valor items to buy.
  1. xenogear3's Avatar
    It is nice to see the upgrade system is gone, but I have to prepare ahead.

    Edit: Just like someone said, the sudden remove will screw some hardcore raiders if they don't plan well.
    They MUST cap 1000 valor every week now until 4.2.

    Will the current PvP conquest 483 gear drop back down 476 after 4.2?
    or honor gear in 4.2 is different from the current conquest 483 gear?

    If the current conquest gear is more powerful than the 4.2 honor gear, it is too late to PvP in this entire expansion.
  1. Self Inflicted Wounds's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by xenogear3 View Post
    It is nice to see the upgrade system is gone, but I have to prepare ahead.

    Will the current PvP conquest 483 gear drop back down 376 after 4.2?
    or honor gear in 4.2 is different from the current conquest 483 gear?

    If the current conquest gear is more powerful than the 4.2 honor gear, it is too late to PvP in this entire expansion.
    This is a bit of an over statement....
  1. DeathbyFrostBomb73's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Epithumia View Post
    Bleh. I don't have much time to play, but at least I could hope to slowly build valor and upgrade the blue/purple upgradable gear I have until I get enough ilevel to LFR.
    Shallow people judge others by how they look....guess what that says about you?
  1. Nosferato's Avatar
    so blizz takes the easy way out, they should just make the new gear beeing not upgradable , while the old loot is, that way the gap wont be so huge if you lvl up a new char, this change hurts new players/chars but has no effect to those that already have good enough gear.
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