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Dragon Soul Cinematics, Hour of Twilight Wallpaper, Raid Finder Q&A, Blue Posts 

by
chaud
Published on 2011-11-30 03:47 AM

Diablo 3 - Act 3 Screenshots from PC Gamer, Blue Posts

Dragon Soul Cinematics
Dragon Soul has four cinematics that show you the important events that occur. The fourth part appears to be missing, but the other three are below.

Update - Just to clarify, the 4th video is as far as I know missing from the game files and we don't know why yet.







Patch 4.3 Wallpaper
Blizzard released the official Patch 4.3 wallpaper in several different sizes.



Raid Finder Q&A
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
The new Raid Finder system is now live with patch 4.3. While we’ve shared some details already, we wanted to provide you with this primer on what players can expect from the new system before taking on one of the most epic bosses Azeroth has ever seen.

Q.Who is Raid Finder for?
A. Raid Finder is primarily intended for players who don’t already raid consistently. These are players who may not have had the opportunity to take part in raid content due to scheduling conflicts, playtime constraints, limited access to other raid-capable players, or a lack of experience with higher-end content. These players may want to experience World of Warcraft’s raid content and storyline without being able to commit to the additional time investment of a raiding guild. The Raid Finder is also a great way to quickly and easily gear up alternate characters without having to worry about raid lockouts.

Q. What size raid group will the Raid Finder support and why?
A. Raid Finder will match players up to form a 25-player raid. This allows for a more forgiving experience should errors be made by individual players. Raid Finder groups should be a fun way to experience raid content without feeling too punishing to inexperienced raiders.

Q.What is the Raid Finder difficulty level?
A. Players who take part in Raid Finder groups can expect a similar difficulty level to the Baradin Hold Cataclysm raid.

Q. Are there any character or item level requirements to use the Raid Finder?
A. Yes. You will need to be level 85 with a minimum item level of 372.

Q.What type of loot and items can I expect to get?
A. The items that can be earned are a lower item level than those found in Normal mode Raid Dungeons. Weapons will only be available from Deathwing himself.

Q. How does loot distribution work?
A. All Raid Finder groups determine loot distribution using the “Need Before Greed” system. Unlike Dungeon Finder, players who are identified as rolling need on an item that fits their primary role will be given loot priority over those who play a different role. You can read more about item distribution and loot roll rules here. While Raid Finder raids aren’t locked, players are only eligible to win loot from a boss once per week.

Q. How do I use Raid Finder?
A. You can access Raid Finder through the ‘Raid’ button in the menu at the bottom of the default user interface.

Q. How does Raid Finder populate the raid? Can I invite my friends?
A. Raid Finder will populate the raid with other players who enter the Raid Finder system. Each Raid Finder raid will include two tanks, six healers, and seventeen damage dealers. As the raid is assembled, the Raid Finder will attempt to balance the group according to armor type, which should help ensure a healthy mix of melee and ranged DPS. There are no additional invite capabilities for the raid leader or other members of the raid, however, groups of players are able to queue together, either as a party or a raid, should they wish to raid together.

Q: Does Raid Finder support Real ID friends?
A: With patch 4.3, you can invite Real ID friends to a party and then queue together for the Dragon Soul raid using Raid Finder. You can't, however form a raid with cross-realm Real ID friends before joining the Raid Finder queue. While not currently supported, this is something that we’re interested in implementing in a future update.

Q. What raids are available?
A.The Dragon Soul raid dungeon will be available in the Raid Finder and has been split into two wings. Players will be able to access the first wing at the release of patch 4.3. Deathwing will become available approximately one week later.

Q. Why aren’t older raids available on Raid Finder?
A. Raid Finder is being used to help players access the most current content and tier gear available within the game. Additional options for the system may be considered in the future.

Q. Can I earn any particular currency with Raid Finder?
A. Players can earn up to 500 Valor points per week (250 per wing) while utilizing Raid Finder.

Q. How often can I enter the Raid Finder system?
A. Each boss within the Dragon Soul raid can be killed once per week for a chance at loot. Since there are no raid locks, skipping a boss will not impede your ability to attempt that boss in a future raid.

Mists of Pandaria Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
PvP and Guards / Flying Mounts in Cities
This is actually a main point that we want to address in Mists of Pandaria. We want to make sure that open world PvP is being promoted to its fullest.

We intend to make it so that players will not be afraid of engaging in PvP with the fear of being one-shot by an NPC guard. Hope that this is what you want to hear, as I cannot wait to get into some serious world PvP again. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Balance Druid Feedback
I just wanted to drop into this thread and let you guys know that we currently plan for Moonkins to have two DoTs: Moonfire and Sunfire will be able to stack (both applied at the same time).

Lunar Shower will be working differently in the future, so it may be too early for those kinds of concerns. I don't have any details to share at the moment though.

Nature's Grace is still 15%, not 1%, that was just a tooltip issue that will be fixed soon. Revive will also be class-wide, not just for Restoration. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Battle.net Authenticator By-Pass Now Active
A Battle.net Authenticator can represent an excellent way to add an additional layer of security to your Battle.net account. We appreciate that our players make use of their authenticators, and to help make them more convenient, we’ve introduced the authenticator by-pass. Those of you that have World of Warcraft accounts may already be familiar with how it works: when you log into a Blizzard game from the same location, you won’t always be prompted for an authentication code until you attempt to log in from a different location.

The authenticator bypass is active for StarCraft II, and is enabled by default. Those of you who wish to disable this feature can do so by opting out of the bypass on your Battle.net account management page. If you opt out of the by-pass, you will be prompted by Battle.net for an authentication code each time you log in. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

LFD Tool Down?
There's a known issue causing the LFG servers to crash, which is kicking people out of queue. A hotfix is already in production and we expect will be implemented this evening.

There's also an issue that's causing long queue times, and again a hotfix is in progress. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Rated Arenas Still Active?
We've implemented a hotfix that should disable ability to continue to play arena and rated BGs. This was an issue only affecting a small group of realms.

And just to clarify the resets don't occur until Season 11 begins next week. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Fall of Deathwing not Available Yet
The Fall of Deathwing is not open just yet for the Raid Finder or Heroic. We plan to open this encounter up in approximately one week. We felt it was important to let more people get through the fights in normal difficulty, make videos, strat guides, update their mods, etc. before we let everyone take a crack at Deathwing. We’ll keep you informed when this part of the raid opens up for Raid Finder. Keep in mind that it’s required to complete the first half to be able to queue for the second, so don’t hold back! (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

372 Item Level for LFR - Excessive?
The Raid Finder is designed to allow players who don't often have the time to commit to a regular raiding schedule a chance at seeing the latest content. With that said, we don't want players who might fall into this category to skip the new five-player dungeons altogether for the Dragon Soul raid.

Raid Finder is below normal and Heroic modes in terms of rewards and difficulty, but the new tier of five-player dungeons should still be stepping stones into the raid.

It shouldn't take the average player "hundreds of hours" to gear up for the Raid Finder version of Dragon Soul, as the Dungeon Finder will quite quickly ramp up your power and gear score.

Implementing the Raid Finder was actually quite a monumental technical feat. We want all future raids to be designed with this third difficulty incorporated, but it'd take quite a bit of time and resources to retrofit the feature into previous raids. In an ideal world that would've happened, but the patch would not have come out this year. And that wasn't an investment we felt would really be ideal in the grand scheme of things. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

No High End Gear for Transmogrification
Why do you need to transmog the highest end raid gear? Go solo some content and transmog your stuff to look how you want it to. This feature is the opposite of an intense time requirement customization system. Go do content when you can, build a set from the content you can do, and enjoy making your character look how you want. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Level 60 Gear Models for Transmogrification
The items out in the world (Marshals, Grand Marshal’s, High Warlord, etc) that use the level 60 PvP art are un-transmogrifiable (including the item level 115 stuff that shares the name from Burning Crusade).

In Area 52 a set of vendors has replaced the PvP Vendors who used to live there. Grex Brainboiler, Krixel Pinchwhistle, Tini Smalls, Kezzik the Striker, Big Zokk Torquewrench, and Leeni “Smiley” Smalls. These vendors sell new, transmogrifiable versions of the classic armor to players who have the Feat of Strength for Legionnaire/Knight-Captain or higher under the old PvP system.

There was a bug with the Feat of Strength granting access to these items, but was hotfixed within the last couple of minutes. If you meet the criteria log out and back in and you should be able to access the vendor.

The design intent with the Feat of Strength achievement requirement was specifically to limit these particular art styles to players who earned them through the OG (and relentlessly difficult) PvP honor system, while keeping the door open to reward them to more people in the future.

In a future patch the items sold by the Area 52 vendors will also be renamed ‘Replica of’ to be more consistent with the items sold by the Darkmoon Faire – they’re currently exact duplicates of the original items that allow transmogrification, which is obviously a bit confusing.

Potentially related, since he’s in the same area, Kezzik the Striker sells inaccessible Season 1 Gladiator’s, Season 2 Merciless Gladiator’s, and Season 3 Vengeful Gladiator’s gear to all players, as the majority of that gear didn’t have restrictions. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Transmogrification Using Items in Void Storage
You've put an item into long-term Void Storage and then want to use it to Transmog? No, it must be in your bags. When an item is in Void Storage it's "locked". All enchants, gems, etc. are stripped. You have to "unlock" it, and bring it into your bags if you wish to use the item in any way, including Transmogrification.

Void Storage and the gold cost are there ... well one as a potential gold sink (although not a super great one), but mainly to give weight to the decision of depositing and removing the items you place in Void Storage because once they're deposited they are "in the void". You should be thinking about and considering when to place items into and remove items from Void Storage. We really didn't want it to become just a new bank system, but a separate long-term storage system for specific types of items.

The connection between the two systems was because with Transmogrification we would essentially be asking people to go get and hold on to a bunch of gear just to customize the way they look. To resolve that we nixxed the key ring which freed up some storage space on a character level, and implemented a way for people to then long-term store those items. A deep-freeze, if you will. It was never the intent to use Void Storage as a staging location you could Transmog from.

And again, I realize how it could have been confusing and do apologize if there was any expectation that these systems were intended to work together directly in any way. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Void Storage
Void Storage provides you with extra space to store items you've used for Transmogrification, or items you might one day want to use for Transmogrification. The idea is to give players a different type of inventory space specifically designed for deep storage of gear.

Players have asked for more inventory space to store gear they love -- whether because it was difficult to obtain, or because the look is too good to throw away -- for mostly nostalgic reasons. Now, with Transmogrification added to the game, this is more of a necessity given that holding onto old gear sets isn't just for keepsake.

But, Void Storage isn't a secondary bank. It's meant for long-term storage of gear so you can hold onto the aesthetics you like, in the event you want to use them for Transmogrification in the future, without worrying about your bag and bank inventory.

That much extra storage space per character is actually a lot of additional data storage on our end. This is why enchants and gems are stripped from items placed in Void Storage, as it's much less data to recall when the extra storage space is only holding onto item IDs.

In any event, the idea wasn't just to give everyone a ton of extra storage space. We want there to be some sort of decision on the part of the player on whether or not to place eligible items in Void Storage. This is why there is a cost associated with each deposit. When all is said and done, you have 80 new slots of space to store the gear you're not using anymore, just in case you want to use any of it for Transmogrification in the future. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Upcoming Portuguese server
We will be opening a Portuguese realm on the Cyclone battlegroup, that will be named Aggra and will be a PvE realm. It will be open for migration and character creation on December 7. More details about this will be communicated to you at a later point.

You do not need to use the Portuguese language pack to be able to play on this new realm. You will only need a European active World of Warcraft licence.

Right now, only one PvE Portuguese realm is planned to be open. Should we decide to open additional realms (PvP or PvE) we will let you know.

The European site should be launched in the coming days and we will give you more information on this as soon as possible.

The Portuguese realm will be situated in one of our existing European data centres, and our operations team is always working with the major internet providers in order to ensure the best game experience possible.

You need to keep in mind that newcomers are sent to PvE realms preferably, and that they provide a much more friendly experience for newer players. While we understand your concerns, this is important for us and we want to offer newcomers a PvE environment. However, if we need more than one realm due to overpopulation of the first, we will open a second one as PvP allowing Free Character Migration to it as well (including from the first Portuguese PvE realm).

In order to ensure minimal queue times when using the Dungeon or Raid Finder tools, the Portuguese-language realm will be a part of the same queues as the English-language realms. Those who choose to use these tools should bear in mind that the resulting groups will likely include English-speaking players. Of course, Portuguese-speaking players can still form groups with friends from their own realm if they would prefer to play with Portuguese-speaking teammates only. Also please note that the PVP queues will work in the same way. As such, you will only meet German players during battlegrounds, on the opposite faction. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Patch 4.3: Customer Support Policy Spotlight
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Patch 4.3 is bringing many gameplay features that have vastly changed the policies our support staff follow when answering your tickets. We wanted to give you a heads-up on what the new features are and how they may affect your characters.

Please keep in mind that what’s described below is our general policy. Every petition submitted to us is reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and many factors are considered when making a final determination on the assistance we are able to provide.

Void Storage
Void Storage is a new feature that gives players the ability to store up to 80 items in long-term storage. Storing items using this feature will cost a set amount of gold, reinforcing the nature of the feature as a long-term storage option. Be aware that items stored are stripped of enhancements, like enchants, gems, sockets, reforged stats, and transmogrifications. Some items may also not be eligible for Void Storage, including crafting materials.

We want players to make responsible and thoughtful choices when utilizing Void Storage, and we require confirmation to help ensure that you are depositing items carefully. As you confirm these deposits and withdrawals, please take a moment to ensure that you want to proceed, as customer support will be unable to reimburse gold spent using the Void Storage system. In addition, enhancements lost due to Void Storage will also be ineligible for restoration, so store carefully!

Transmogrification
Transmogrification brings weapon- and armor-appearance customization to World of Warcraft! Like any item enhancement, utilizing this feature will bind the item to your character permanently.

Confirming a transmogrification on an item and thereby binding it to your character will prevent that item from being unbound, refunded, or exchanged by customer support. As with Void Storage, sufficient warnings and visual confirmations of your request are provided. For this reason, we urge you to please be careful when transmogrifying items!

Profession Specializations
With patch 4.3, players will be able to unlearn specializations associated with their primary professions. For example, alchemists who have specialized in Transmutation will be able to unlearn this focus in favor of another. Bear in mind that unlearning a specialization will remove all associated specialized recipes from your character’s spell book.

With all player decisions, we want there to be a measure of responsibility. However, we understand that some of the specialization-specific recipes are no longer available in-game. Should you unlearn a profession specialization and regret the decision, and should you petition in a timely manner and not learn a new specialization in the interim, our staff may be able to help restore recipes lost in this manner.

Raid Finder
Our policies for the Raid Finder will largely mirror our existing stances on player interaction and loot distribution. The standard loot distribution method of Need Before Greed has been altered for the Raid Finder to be more restrictive on what loot is appropriate to which players, and as a result, it leaves little room for loot disputes.

If you are unfamiliar with our current stance, be aware that customer support does not intervene with loot disputes. This means that the rightful winner of a piece of gear in a Raid Finder group is the one who is sent the item by the distribution system. To maintain a level of fairness and equality in these matters, customer support will be unable to redistribute loot either as a result of a dispute or at the request of a player who wishes to swap the item to another. As the two-hour trade timer will still be applicable in these situations, players can swap items between themselves should they decide to do so.

Fangs of the Father
Rogues will be provided with an opportunity to pursue some of the most legendary weaponry designed to date. The Fangs of the Father quest line will be an arduous journey for even the most seasoned adventurer.
In line with our previous policies regarding Legendary weapons, we want players to understand the weight of their decisions when pursuing them. As a result, customer support will be unable to assist in most situations involving the Fangs of the Father quest line. While all cases are taken on an individual basis, refunds, exchanges, or the trading of related items will largely be outside the scope of what our policies allow. Tread carefully, heroes!

The Darkmoon Faire
The Darkmoon Faire is changing in many ways and will vastly differ from what you may have previously experienced. New items, prizes, and games await the curious and bold, and we encourage our players to participate in every facet, from quests to the new Deathmatch Arena.

However, as any of the carnival folk will tell you, it’s every man for himself out there. Quest items acquired from dungeons are Bind-on-Pickup, and once the quest has been accepted, the item will no longer be able to be traded. Customer support will not intervene in swapping these items, as the two-hour trade timer is applicable prior to the quest being accepted. In addition, participants of the Deathmatch Arena should be aware that once begun, sanctuary from your opponents will not be granted. Players should be wary of entering the Arena unless they are prepared to duke it out to the death!

Guild Leadership
With the introduction of patch 4.3, guilds will have more control over their leadership in cases where the leader goes MIA. After 30 days have passed, guild leadership will be able to be passed to a high-ranking and active individual to help continue cultivating a guild’s progression.

With the introduction of this feature, customer support will no longer intervene in guild leadership disputes. The matters of leadership and guild organization are meant for the guild to discuss and arrange, and we want to stress that leadership decisions should be made after thoughtful contemplation for and by those involved.
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Patch 4.3 on live realms this week 

by
Boubouille
Published on 2011-11-27 10:38 PM

Diablo 3 - Even with the patch coming I'm still working on shiny new Diablo stuff! Today on Diablofans we have a nice Diablo 3 Mystic and Item Enhancements Preview!

Update - The trailer is now available on the official World of Warcraft Youtube Channel


Update: Now we have official confirmation that Patch 4.3 will be released on 11/29, as well as a Season 10 ending reminder.


Patch 4.3 on live realms this week
Patch 4.3 will be deployed on live realms this week, as usual there is a 1% chance that it will not happen if something goes really wrong but you should expect to be able to enter the Dragon Soul raid and kick deathwing's ... butt? on November 29th in the US and November 30th in EU. Time for the giant recap of what to expect from this patch!

Raid Finder
The new Raid Finder tool is a new way to build raids similar to the Looking for Dungeon tool. You can now queue for a 25-man raid and pretty much instantly jump in the fight to get your shiny epics! It also comes with a new "Looking for Raid" difficulty that makes bosses easier and puggable.



Raid Instance - Dragon Soul
A new raid instance is added to the game with this patch, the Dragon Soul instance will allow you to face Deathwing himself and potentially defeat him.





Tier 13 Armor Sets
New raid instance means new Tier armor sets and the Tier 13 might be one of the best design we've seen in a while!




Valor Points Rewards and Raid Loot
A lot of gear has been added in this patch, you can get a lot of gear for your character from the Patch 4.3 Valor Points Rewards and for those of you who don't want to check individual bosses loot lists, we have a nice Dragon Soul Raid Loot List.


Also, Valor Points are now earned at the same rate in 10 and 25-man instances now.
Originally Posted by Bashiok (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
We've made slight adjustments to the Valor Point (VP) drops on the 4.3 PTR which testers can now see. In both 10- and 25-player raids, bosses will now drop 100 VP each (down from 115 and 135 respectively). We’ll also be changing Firelands raid bosses to drop 50 VP per kill upon release of the patch.

This change is being made to further emphasize the desire to kill bosses for the items they drop. In the 4.3 raid, tier sets can only be earned from boss drops, and as Raid Finder will allow for just about anyone to get a chance to kill bosses, we think there will be less need for Valor overall. We want to try to match the lower desire for VP with a slightly slower acquisition rate.

We appreciate your thoughts and constructive discussion on how these changes may affect you and your guild once 4.3 is released.

5-Man Instances - Well of Eternity, Hour of Twilight, and End Time
Three new 5-man instances are added to the game! The Well of Eternity, Hour of Twilight, and End Time instances are all located in the Caverns of Time.



Transmogrification
Transmogrification allows you to change the appearance of any piece of equipement you're wearing by replacing it with the look of another piece of gear you own! Read the Transmogrification article for more information



Void Storage
The Void Storage is a new Bank-like feature introduced with Patch 4.3, it can be unlocked for 100 Gold and will offer your character 80 extra slots of storage!



Legendary Daggers - Fangs of the Fathers
Rogues can acquire 2 new legendary daggers in this patch, Golad, Twilight of Aspects and Tiriosh, Nightmare of Ages. More information in Fangs of the Father - Legendary Daggers Questline!



Patch 4.3 Mounts
This patch adds almost 20 mounts to the game, and we already have the drop locations for more than 10 of them! Check out the Patch 4.3 Mounts!



Patch 4.3 Companion Pets
15 new companion pets have been added to the game in Patch 4.3, a lot of them are from the new Darkmoon Faire but there's also a couple of collector mounts, and even a Sea Pony! Check out the Patch 4.3 Companion Pets.



Darkmoon Faire Reworked - Darkmoon Faire Island!
The Darkmoon Faire has been completely reworked and got its own zone, it's now MUCH bigger and is located on the Darkmoon Faire Island! Feel free to read Patch 4.3 Darkmoon Faire.



Season 11 Armor Sets and PvP Rewards
For all the PvPers out there we have a nice list of Season 11 Armor Sets and PvP Gear!


Don't forget that you can also earn Conquest points from regular battlegrounds victories now, and the amount of Conquest points earned in Rated BG has been considerably increased.
Originally Posted by Bashiok (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
In patch 4.3 we’re changing the daily battleground (BG) to reward 100 conquest for a win (up from 25). In addition, every non-rated BG that you win will also give you 50 conquest. There is no limit to how many BGs you can run this way, up to the normal conquest cap.

Our intent is to start acting even more on our Mists of Pandaria philosophies of encouraging players to approach the content they want to, how they want to, and be able to work toward meaningful player progression. Arenas and rated battlegrounds will still earn Conquest faster, but with this change you can now work your way up by running normal BGs, if you so choose.

Patch Notes
This is not the final version of the patch notes, only the latest update of the test realm notes. There might be a few changes in the final version but most of the changes are here.
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
World of Warcraft PTR Patch 4.3.0

General

  • New Dungeon & Raid Content
  • Raid Finder
    • This new grouping feature allows players to quickly and easily form a pick-up raid for a specially tuned version of the current tier of endgame content: the Dragon Soul raid. Raid Finder is now available.
  • Transmogrification
    • This new feature allows players to customize their gear like never before. You'll find Transmogrification, Void Storage, and Reforging vendors in Cathedral Square, Stormwind and The Drag, Orgrimmar. The costs associated with this service are not yet final.
  • Void Storage
    • In addition to the bank, players will now have access to a new "deep storage" system, allowing characters to free bag space by setting aside coveted gear. You'll find Transmogrification, Void Storage, and Reforging vendors in Cathedral Square, Stormwind and The Drag, Orgrimmar. The costs associated with this service are not yet final.
  • Reforging
    • The former Reforging vendors have been... retired. The ethereals have chosen to take over the business and joined their Transmogrification and Void Storage service providers. You'll find them in Cathedral Square, Stormwind and The Drag, Orgrimmar.
  • Outland & Northrend Quest Flow
    • The amount of experience needed to gain levels 71 through 80 has been reduced by approximately 33%.
    • Many Group quests in Outland and Northrend have been re-tuned to allow players to complete them solo. They are no longer labeled as Group quests.
    • Relevant questgivers have been moved into Outland and Northrend dungeons. The majority of dungeon quests for these zones are now available from within their respective dungeons.
  • North American realms (excluding Brazilian, Latin American, and Oceanic realms) no longer permit letters with accents in character or guild names. Existing character and guild names with special characters will be unaffected by this change.

Achievements


Classes: General

  • All raid and party buffs which grant group members 10% increased attack power have been changed slightly. They continue to provide 10% increased ranged attack power, but now provide 20% increased melee attack power.
    • Abomination's Might: The melee attack power bonus from this raid buff has been increased to 10/20%, up from 5/10%. The ranged attack power bonus remains 5/10%.
    • Blessing of Might: The melee attack power bonus from this raid buff has been increased to 20%, up from 10%. The ranged attack power bonus remains 10%.
    • Runescroll of Might: The melee attack power bonus from this consumable has been increased to 16%, up from 8%. The ranged attack power bonus remains 8%.
    • Trueshot Aura: The melee attack power bonus from this raid buff has been increased to 20%, up from 10%. The ranged attack power bonus remains 10%.
    • Unleashed Rage: The melee attack power bonus from this raid buff has been increased to 10/20%, up from 5/10%. The ranged attack power bonus remains 5/10%.
  • Vengeance for Protection warriors, Protection paladins, Blood death knights, and Feral druids has been redesigned slightly. It no longer ramps up slowly at the beginning of a fight. Instead, the first melee attack taken by the tank generates Vengeance equal to 33% of the damage taken by that attack. In addition, as it updates periodically during the fight, it's always set to at least 33% of the damage taken by the tank in the last 2 seconds. It still climbs from that point at the rate it did previously, still decays when damage is not taken, and still cannot exceed a maximum based on the health and Stamina of the tank.
  • Threat generated by classes in active tanking modes has been increased to 500% damage done, up from 300%. This applies to druids in Bear Form, death knights in Blood Presence, warriors in Defensive Stance, and paladins with Righteous Fury active.
  • Spells which have an effect broken by taking damage past a threshold (Entangling Roots, Fear, Frost Nova, etc.) now count damage that was prevented by damage absorbs or other damage reducing effects.

Death Knight (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Death Strike now heals the death knight whether or not the attack misses, or is dodged/parried. As a result of this change, Death Strike no longer refunds its rune cost if it fails to hit the target, as the death knight will still receive the healing effect.
  • Blood Presence now provides an armor bonus of 55%, up from 30%.

  • Death Knight pets now properly inherit their master’s crit and spell penetration stats.


Blood
Unholy
  • Unholy Might now increases Strength by 25%, up from 20%.
  • The gargoyle called by Summon Gargoyle should exclusively use its ranged attack regardless of range to the target.

Druid (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Wrath has a new spell effect.
  • Hurricane has a new updated visual effect.
  • Swipe (Cat) has been reduced to 340% weapon damage, down from 415%.
  • Bear Form now provides an armor bonus of 120% at all levels, up from 65% for characters below level 40, making it easier for lower level druids to tank dungeons.
  • Bear Form now provides a Stamina bonus of 20%, up from 10%.

Balance
Restoration
Glyphs
Hunter (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Monstrous Bite now reduces the target’s healing received by 25%, up from 10%.

Beast Mastery
  • Animal Handler now increases Attack Power by 30%, up from 25%.
  • Widow Venom now reduces the target’s healing received by 25%, up from 10%.
  • Burrow Attack now does approximately 20% more damage, and has an increased area of effect.
  • Froststorm Breath now does approximately 20% more damage, and has an increased area of effect.

Survival
Mage (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Pyroblast’s initial damage has been increased by approximately 26%, and its damage over time has been increased by approximately 100%.
  • Fireball damage has been increased by approximately 17%.

Fire
  • Living Bomb damage over time has been increased by approximately 10%, and explosion damage has been increased by approximately 120%.

Paladin (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Holy Radiance now has a 3.0-second cast time, no cooldown, and requires a player target. That target is imbued with Holy Radiance, which heals them and all group members within 10 yards instantly, and continues to heal them by a smaller amount every 1 second for 3 seconds.
  • Seal of Insight, when Judged, no longer returns 15% base mana to the paladin. Judging Seal of Insight still causes damage, and melee attacks will still restore 4% of base mana.
  • Seal of Truth, when Judged, now benefits from a multiplier of 20% per stack of Censure, up from 10%.

Holy
Retribution
Glyphs
  • Glyph of Light of Dawn now lowers the number of targets to 4, instead of increasing targets to 6, but increases healing by 25%.

Priest (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
Discipline
  • Atonement will now account for the target enemy's combat reach when calculating proper range, enabling it to be used on large creatures such as Ragnaros and Ala'kir.
  • Divine Aegis has a new spell effect.

Holy
Glyphs
Rogue (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Wound Poison now reduces the target’s healing received by 25%, up from 10%.

Shaman (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Flametongue Weapon no longer increases spell damage. It now increases all non-physical damage done by the wielder by 5%.
  • Lightning Bolt has a new spell effect.
  • Wind Shear’s base cooldown has been adjusted to 15 seconds, up from 6 seconds.

Elemental
Enhancement
  • Improved Lava Lash now causes Lava Lash to spread a Flame Shock debuff from the target to up to 4 nearby targets. This excludes crowd-controlled targets and those who already have a Flame Shock debuff from the shaman.
  • Improved Lava Lash no longer increases base Lava Lash damage by 15/30%. This increase has been rolled into the base Lava Lash skill.
  • Mental Quickness has been redesigned. Instead of granting the shaman spell power, Mental Quickness now causes Enhancement shaman spells to behave as though the shaman has spell power equal to 55% of attack power. Enhancement shaman spells no longer benefit from spell power from other sources.
  • Maelstrom Weapon can now also proc from fully absorbed melee attacks.

Restoration
  • Ancestral Healing now also causes the shaman's heals to increase the target's maximum health by 5/10% of the amount healed, up to a maximum of 10% of the target's maximum health, for 15 seconds. This effect does not stack if multiple Restoration shaman are present, and does not apply to heals from procs.
  • Riptide's periodic healing coefficient has been increased by 50%. The initial direct heal is unchanged.

Warlock (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Shadow Bolt has a new spell effect.
  • Soul Fire now scales with 72.6% of spell power, up from 62.5%.
  • The Voidwalker ability Suffering now works like the hunter pet talent Taunt.

Demonology
Destruction
Bug Fixes
  • Fixed a bug that caused Doomguard and Infernal to benefit dramatically more than intended from Demonology Mastery.

Warrior (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Charge (and related abilities) should now correctly path to a target even if the target moves during the Charge. This change should decrease the likelihood of the warrior Charging to a different location than the target.
  • Slam now uses a new character attack animation.
  • Colossus Smash now uses a new character attack animation.

Arms
  • Mortal Strike now reduces the target’s healing received by 25%, up from 10%.

Fury
  • Dual Wield Specialization no longer increases Physical damage by 5%. It continues to increase off-hand attack damage by 25%.
  • Furious Attacks now reduces the target’s healing received by 25%, up from 10%.

Dungeons & Raids

  • Dungeon Journal entries have been added for the new dungeons: End Time, Well of Eternity, Hour of Twilight, and Dragon Soul.
  • Players who use Dungeon Finder for a random Heroic dungeon will no longer be locked to that instance. Previously, players who entered an instance via the Random Dungeon option were then prohibited from queuing for that dungeon or entering the instance manually via the portal. Players should now always be able to complete a specific Heroic dungeon once per day regardless of any random dungeons completed.
  • Ruins of Ahn'qiraj
    • Bosses in Ruins of Ahn'qiraj now drop a rare-quality Scarab Coffer Key which can be used to open the Scarab Coffers found within. These keys are zone-bound to Ruins of Ahn'qiraj and have a 17-hour expiration. This change also applies to Greater Scarab Coffer Keys used to open Large Scarab Coffers.
  • Zul’Gurub
    • Players now only have to kill two of the four initial dungeon bosses (High Priest Venoxis, Broodlord Mandokir, High Priestess Kilnara, and Zanzil) to face Jin’do the Godbreaker.
  • Zul’Aman
    • Players now only have to kill two of the four Troll avatars before they may face Hex Lord Malacrass.

Guilds

  • Guild Standards are again useable in Firelands. Duration has been increased to 15 minutes, the effect has a 100 yard radius, and now affects dead players.

Items


Races

  • The orc racial Blood Fury now increases spell power rather than only spell damage.

User Interface

  • Archaeology areas of interest will now show on the mini-map, in addition to the World Map.
  • Bag Search
    • A search field has been added to allow players to search bag, bank, guild bank, and Void Storage inventories for specific items.
  • Guilds with inactive guild leaders can now usurp the leader under specific conditions. More information on this coming soon.
  • The Reforging interface has been updated and improved.
  • Quest Tracking areas or points of interest will now show on the mini-map, in addition to the World Map.
  • The World Map now displays the expected character levels for each zone.
  • Added a “promote everyone” checkbox that will automatically make all raid members, Raid assistants. This checkbox can be found in the Raid Frame and the Unit Frame “pull-out” tab.
  • There are now commands for world markers & unit markers.
  • Added new rotation, zoom, and pan controls are now available in all windows with player models in UI frames.
  • Players can now unlearn profession specialization without unlearning the profession (Engineering & Alchemy).
  • [Mac] Added functionality to allow using the Command key instead of the Control key on Apple keyboards. This can be enabled in Mac Options.
  • [Mac] Added functionality to disable Mac OS system keyboard shortcuts so that they do not interfere with keyboard shortcuts in WoW. This can be enabled in Mac Options.
  • Added a feature to interact with NPCs, game objects (mailbox, mining nodes, etc.), and corpses on left-click as well as right-click. There is now an option under Interface:Controls to turn this feature off.
369 Comments

Dev Watercooler - Faction Favoritism 

by
chaud
Published on 2011-11-25 05:51 PM

Diablo 3 - Today's Diablo news should make you pretty happy, we have a Preview of the Jeweler artisan and a complete list of all the existing gems + their stats!

Dev Watercooler - Faction Favoritism
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
One of our earliest design goals with World of Warcraft was to ensure a healthy rivalry between the Alliance and the Horde. Cross-faction communication was banned outright, even where it made little or no sense in the lore. Entire realms are dedicated to PvP. Battlegrounds and quest hubs feature prominent Alliance and Horde iconography. We want to foster a sense of factional pride, a real identity with your brothers and sisters in arms.

We want players to be proud of their faction, even at the expense of personal dignity. One time I was driving my wife home from dinner. She leaned out of the car window, threw the horns, and screamed “FOR THE HORDE!” at some dude who was standing outside the restaurant in his Horde hockey jersey. Poor guy probably forgot he was wearing it. We peeled off in a thick cloud of blue tire smoke, and I think we made him pee.

That’s what I’m talking about.

So when it comes to the game’s ongoing story developments, it’s no surprise that Alliance and Horde fans are “keeping score.” Maps and charts of territory gained and lost started showing up around the time the Cataclysm shook the world to its foundations. Southshore plagued? Taurajo burned? Oh no they didn’t!

Implicit amidst most of the grumbling from either side is the assumption that Blizzard should be fairly treating both factions. Then there’s the more explicit assumption: if one faction is losing ground, then Blizzard must be biased.

Are we?

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Of Warcraft.

Maybe we are. A quick survey of Azeroth’s history reveals that we’ve been punishing the Alliance for generations. Stormwind was razed by orcs back in Warcraft I. Then Lordaeron fell to the plague in Warcraft III, its inhabitants turned into a mindless mob of undead. High-elven allies were besieged by the scourge and had their city sacked and their source of power corrupted. (The survivors of both these atrocities found solace in the Horde.) The gnomish capital was irradiated. The dwarven kingdoms were shattered by a terrible civil war. I’m surprised there’s an Alliance left at all.

On the other hand, those humans got off easy -- at least they still have a planet. The orc homeworld was overrun with demons and obliterated. Almost the entire race was poisoned by demonic blood. By the end of Warcraft II, what little remained of the orc race was stranded on an alien world, defeated, sullen, weak, and locked away in human-controlled internment camps.

I’m sure glad we didn’t have orc forums back then! Imagine the outrage.

In truth, a historical account of the Warcraft universe reads like a war crimes trial. Empires topple, leaders are corrupted, populations are massacred, entire civilizations fall to ruin (often at their peak of power)… Warcraft is a dark place. Just ask the Draenei: We trashed their homeworld and tortured its last uncorrupted children for tens of thousands of years. We’re downright cruel. I’ve never met a more sadistic team of story folk.

Suffering is the gasoline that drives our story engine. Why is that?

The Hero Factory

Here at Blizzard, we often talk about what we’re trying to build with the fiction of the Warcraft universe. The phrase “Hero Factory” frequently comes up across all of our franchises. We want the players to feel like heroes.

The primordial soup that creates heroes never tastes of rainbows -- it’s a lumpy gumbo of suffering and evil. Heroes are born from darkness, because we desperately need someone to light the way.

It’s an unfair world that cries out for heroes. To bring order out of chaos and justice to the downtrodden is the hero’s call. Is it any wonder that Azeroth is an unfair place? It’s monstrously unfair. And it’s going to stay that way.

Of Story Arcs and Storied Orcs

We can guarantee an unfair and inequitable treatment of both factions for now and in the foreseeable future. This allows us to have richer long-term story arcs, another idea that we’ve been experimenting with since the build-up to Cataclysm. To see the factions ebb and flow as their leaders get embroiled in all manner of heroism or skullduggery is like a reward for long-time players.

Speaking of faction leaders, that’s one area where I think we can do better: Giving everyone a chance to interact with their heroes throughout the story. In creating this universe, I’ll admit that we at Blizzard often fall into a trap of thinking of our main characters as “world” characters and not individual faction characters.

For example, the events of the cataclysm put in motion some major story developments for Thrall, who’d been sitting relatively idle in Orgrimmar since the events of Warcraft III. He was forced to choose between his role as warchief and as a shaman who could potentially save the world. He set aside the warchief’s mantle and, with your help, he’ll play an instrumental role in bringing an end to Deathwing.

But there’s a price to pay. Thrall sacrificed something.

The Horde has gone through a story arc of its own, since the days when the ragged refugee orcs first stumbled onto the beaches of Kalimdor and decided to found a new capital. The Horde races have united and consolidated. The Forsaken, no longer tormented by the Lich King, have secured their borders. The tauren have settled a homeland. The Darkspear trolls, once on the brink of extinction thanks to murlocs (murlocs!), have rallied together and founded a capital. The blood elves have survived the destruction of their home, moved beyond the defection of their leader, and reclaimed the Sunwell. The Horde is absolutely ascendant.

And in this moment, as one of the most powerful groups of mortals on Azeroth seeks to define itself, Thrall is out of the picture. The Horde’s mission is being defined by Garrosh Hellscream. Thrall’s decision to leave him in charge is coming back to haunt him.

If you’re a die-hard Alliance player, I can understand if you feel left out of Thrall’s story arc. Thrall feels like “their guy,” and Thrall’s journey over the last couple of years may not feel like “your” story, even if his mistakes are about to send the whole world into a potential death spiral. Fair enough. Stick with Thrall as he fulfills his destiny at the end of Cataclysm, and I promise we’ll catch up with other characters -- from both factions -- as we pick up the pieces in the aftermath.

Garrosh Hellscream has a vision for the Horde, a vision of a united Kalimdor that can only be realized over the ashes of the Alliance. He’s craftier than any of his foes realize, and his grim determination to win at all costs -- even at the expense of his own people -- is plunging the world into chaos.

In the midst of this crisis, the Alliance is going to need to pull together like never before. At the BlizzCon lore panel we promised that key Alliance characters are going to get more time in the spotlight throughout Mists and the subsequent patches, and I wanted to reiterate that here. They’re going to come out of this stronger than ever, but the road ahead won’t be easy.

It’s going to get worse before it gets better. A lot worse. But that’s a good thing. It means we’re going to need a lot more heroes to bring justice to an unjust world. We’re going to need you to step up and reshape the world.

Just don’t expect a Happily Ever After. We just don’t do those here.

Dave “Fargo” Kosak is the lead quest designer for World of Warcraft. His job is to maintain the integrity of the Warcraft world and storyline through gameplay, while simultaneously chucking bear cubs onto trampolines. It’s a fine line, but he walks it with the unwavering deftness of a quarterback on one of those old vibrating Electric Football games.
317 Comments

Legendary Daggers, Blizzcon Survey, Raid Finder Loot Rules, Black Friday, New TV Spot 

by
chaud
Published on 2011-11-25 01:43 AM

Diablo 3 - Beta Monster Affixes Screenshots, 'Sword of Justice' Comic Update, Diablo Costume Video

Legendary Daggers - Stage 3 Stats Revealed
The final daggers recently showed up on the PTR, so the three tiers are now complete! Thanks to g0urra from Wowpedia for the tip!

Stage 1 - Vengeance / Fear
  • Set Bonus - Your melee attacks have a chance to grant Suffering, increasing your Agility by 2, stacking up to 50 times.

Stage 2 - The Sleeper / The Dreamer
  • Set Bonus - Your melee attacks have a chance to grant Nightmare, increasing your Agility by 5, stacking up to 50 times.

Stage 3 - Golad, Twilight of Aspects / Tiriosh, Nightmare of Ages
  • Set Bonus - Your melee attacks have a chance to grant Shadows of the Destroyer, increasing your Agility by 17, stacking up to 50 times. Each application past 30 grants an increasing chance to trigger Fury of the Destroyer. When triggered, this consumes all applications of Shadows of the Destroyer, immediately granting 5 combo points and cause your finishing moves to generate 5 combo points. Lasts 6 sec.





Future Blizzcon Plans
Blizzard recently sent out an email to everyone who purchased the Virtual Ticket with hints of what they are considering for future years. If you ordered the Virtual Ticket and have not provided feedback yet, check your email for your survey link.



Patch 4.3: Raid Finder Loot Rules
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
As previously announced the Raid Finder will use an altered version of Need Before Greed that provides loot roll bonuses to those that have entered the raid in the role (tank, DPS, healing) that uses those items. Unfortunately the system is currently unable to detect spec, and so this creates some issues for classes that utilize stats that are not "common" to that role.

To help clarify which items you will or will not be able to roll on based on the role you entered the raid in, we have some basic guidelines that we've followed that should help you anticipate which items you'll receive the roll bonus on.

If you're in a raid as one of the below roles here is what you'll receive a roll bonus on:

Tank:
Agility Leather (for druids)
Strength plate with tank stats on it
Trinkets with tank stats
Trinkets with Agility (for druids)

Healer:
Any appropriate caster gear without Hit
Trinkets that trigger on heals or beneficial spells

DPS:
Mostly everything that doesn’t have a tank stat on it
Spirit gear (for elemental shaman, shadow priest, and moonkin)
Trinkets that trigger on damaging spells/melee hits

In some cases we've been overly restrictive when flagging accessories (Petrified Fungal Heart and Signet of Grasping Mouths in particular), and we're planning to modify a couple of those items to be less restrictive before or shortly after the patch goes live.

With Mists of Pandaria our expectation is that we will have the ability to detect spec, and so all of these issues go away for future raids. For Dragon Soul there will be some overlap, though, and it's important you're aware of the loot rules as due to the automated distribution system our support department will not be able to assist with any loot disputes while using Raid Finder.

Black Friday Sale List
We put together a thread with some of the better Black Friday Computer Component sales which will be updated until the end of Cyber Monday sales, if you are looking to grab some more parts or a new monitor, take a look!



Aubrey Plaza Stars in New TV Spot
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World) has a love/hate relationship with World of Warcraft in the latest WoW TV spot.


Black Friday Sale - 50% Off StarCraft II
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Give the gift of StarCraft!

Like it or not, it’s pretty much the law that you have to buy gifts for everyone at this time of year. Thankfully, Blizzard has your back, because now you can deliver a $60 gift for less than 30 bucks. For a limited time, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is available for a mere $29.99 -- that’s 50% off the suggested retail price.

Click here for details, but don’t delay; this offer ends Monday November 28th.
171 Comments

Mists of Pandaria Talent Calculator Unofficial Patch Notes 

by
Boubouille
Published on 2011-11-23 09:46 PM

Today we don't have one side news but 2!
  • The Skeleton King killed in one hit on beta, Blue posts, and the new Tyrael Hoodie on Diablofans.com
  • A nice compilation of Black Friday sales by chaud, for those of you who live in the US!

Mists of Pandaria Talent Calculator Unofficial Patch Notes
What kind of site MMO-Champion would be if we left you with a bunch of picture and a couple of "ok, shit changed, go figure it out!"? Not a very good site, I tell you.

That's why my wonderful (and slightly crazy) moderators worked all day to bring you an almost complete list of changes since what we've seen at Blizzcon! But before we jump aboard the class changes train, a word of warning from the best safety advisor out there, Bashiok.
Originally Posted by Bashiok (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
We wanted to take a moment to give some context to why the calculators were posted, and the permanence of the data shown. A lot of times we say things like "not final" and "may change" as verbal wiggle room should we decide we need to go a different direction, or are unable to complete something in time. In this case of the Mists of Pandaria calculator data is essentially pre-alpha, and will absolutely change in many ways.

It was important for us to get this stuff in front of you as soon as possible though (and as a work in progress as it is) to get your feedback, which will in no small part influence that change. We also wanted to present everything on a single page to give you a fuller context for the initial talent changes we announced at BlizzCon, and to see how the overall structure of core abilities, spec abilities, and talents will function, with concrete examples.

The calculator contains elements that are experimental, still in the process of implementation, or in some cases outright failed experiments that we already intend to revise or replace. Odds are good that if it looks like we’ve forgotten some critical piece of a particular class toolkit, it’s either accounted for elsewhere, or simply a data glitch (e.g., Prayer of Healing is currently absent from the calculator – we are not taking Prayer of Healing away from priests, and Devastate for warriors probably won't sunder armor 453%). Our hope is that revealing the calculator in this state will shed light on the philosophy behind our talent overhaul, and let you get a sense of how pieces of your core rotational gameplay, such as Hot Streak, Riptide, or Sudden Doom, fit into the new system.

The different classes are also at very different stages of design and implementation, and the fact that some mechanics changes we discussed at BlizzCon and in recent Q&As are not yet present does not mean that we have abandoned those ideas.

Any and all feedback is very welcome, but please keep all of the above in mind when considering the information in the talent calculator, and please keep feedback consolidated in the Mists of Pandaria forum: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/2592425/
And now, the super awesome list of compiled changes, thanks to all the moderators who worked on that including Simca, Malefic, Madgod, Migari, Radux, and many others who are going to hate me because I forgot to mention them!
Originally Posted by MMO-Champion
Death Knight (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • On a Pale Horse is now a trainable passive ability and is available to all Death Knights at level 61.
  • A new ability, Control Undead, is now available for all Death Knights. Control Undead dominates an undead creature, placing it under your control for up to 5 minutes. While controlled, the creature attacks 30% slower and casts 20% slower. It has a 30 yard range, costs 1 Unholy rune, and has a 1.5 sec cast time.

Blood
  • Dark Command is now exclusive to Blood.
  • Rune Strike is now exclusive to Blood.

Frost
  • Obliterate is now exclusive to Frost.

Unholy
  • Festering Strike is exclusive to Unholy.

Druid (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Maul [updated] Now deals 20% more damage to bleeding targets, instead of dealing more damage if the target has a debuff which increases bleed damage.
  • Swipe [updated] Now deals 20% more damage to bleeding targets in addition to it's previous effect.
  • Barkskin [updated] is no longer avaliable to Restoration Druids and is replaced with Ironbark (see below)
  • Might of Ursoc [new] Increases max health by 30% and increases health to 30% (if below that amount)
  • Stampeding Roar [updated] Now removes all roots and snares on affected targets and automatically shifts you into Bear Form if you are not in Bear or Cat Form, in addition to its previous effect.
  • Symbiosis [new] Creates a symbiotic link which grants the Druid one ability belonging to the target's class, varying by the Druid's specialization. In exchange grants the target one Druid ability based on their class and combat role. Lasts one hour and persists through death.

Balance
  • Insect Swarm [updated] The enemy target is swarmed by insects, increasing all damage taken by your Wrath, Starfire, and Starsurge spells by 30%. Limit 1 target.
  • Killer Instinct [new] Grants 100% of your Intellect as Agility when you shapeshift into Bear Form or Cat Form.
  • Wild Mushroom [updated] Now also states that other Wild Mushroom abilities can target these Mushrooms for additional effects.

Feral
  • Mangle [updated] No longer states that it boosts bleed damage.
  • Tiger's Fury [updated] Now restores 60 energy upon use in addition to its original effect.
  • Savage Roar [updated] Now increases damage done by 30%. Lasts longer per combo point.
  • Thrash [updated] Thrash all nearby enemies, dealing immediate physical damage and periodic bleed damage. Damage varies by shapeshift form

Guardian
  • Mangle [updated] No longer states that it boosts bleed damage.
  • Savage Defense [updated] Now simply an ability that reduces all physical damage taken by 60% for 3 sec.
  • Lacerate [updated] Now grants a 30% change to reset the cooldown on Mangle.
  • Thrash [updated] Now states that damage varies by shapeshift form in addition to its original effects.
  • Survival Instincts [updated] Now reduces damage taken by 60% and is only usable in Bear Form.
  • Skull Bash [updated] Now increases mana cost of all spells from the interrupted spell school by 10% for 10 sec in addition to its previous effects.
  • Frenzied Regeneration [updated] Converts up to 2 rage per second into health for 10 sec. Each point of rage is converted into 2% of max health.

Restoration
  • Regrowth [updated] Now exclusive to Restoration.
  • Ironbark [new] The target's skin becomes as tough ironwood, reducing all damage taken by 20%. Lasts 12 sec.
  • Wild Mushroom [new] Grow a magic Mushroom with 5 health at the target location. After 6 seconds, the Mushroom will become invisible. Other Wild Mushroom abilities can target these Mushrooms for additional effects. Only 3 Mushrooms can be placed at one time.
  • Wild Mushroom: Bloom [new] Causes all of your wild mushrooms to bloom, healing all allies within 6 yards for X.

Talents
  • Wild Charge [updated] Grants a movement ability that varies by shapeshift form:
    Non-shapeshifted: Fly to an ally's position and your next healing spell costs no mana.
    Bear Form: Charge to an enemy, immobilizing them and granting you 30% haste.
    Cat Form: Leap behind an enemy and cause your next Ravage to cost no energy, not require stealth, and have no positioning requirement.
    Moonkin Form: Bound backward and gain 20 lunar or solar energy, whichever is more beneficial to you.
    Travel Form: Leap forward 20 yards and take 20% reduced damage for 10 sec.
    Flight Form: Increases flight speed by an additional 20% for 30 sec.
    Aquatic Form: Increases swim speed by an additional 200% and take 20% reduced damage for 10 sec.
  • Incarnation [updated] Activates a superior shapeshifting form appropriate to your specialization for 30 sec. You may freely shapeshift in and out of this form for its duration.
    Balance: Chosen of Elune Improved Moonkin Form that increases Arcane and Nature damage by 20% and reduces all damage taken by 15%.
    Feral: King of the Jungle - Improved Cat Form that allows the use of all abilities which normally require stealth, and allows use of Prowl while in combat.
    Guardian: Son of Ursoc Improved Bear Form that reduces the cooldown on all melee abilities to 1.5 sec.
    Restoration: Tree of Life Tree of Life Form that increases armor by 120% and enhances Lifebloom, Wild Growth, Regrowth, Entangling Roots, and Wrath spellcasts
  • Heart of the Wild [updated] Dramatically improves the Druid's ability to serve combat roles outside of normal specialization for 45 sec.
    Balance: Healing spells generate Lunar or Solar Energy and benefit from Lunar and Solar Eclipse. In addition, grants 50% of Intellect as Agility, 100% of hit rating as expertise rating, and increases armor by 95% while in Bear Form.
    Feral: Grants 50% of Agility as Intellect, increases hit rating by 100%, and increases armor by 95% while in Bear Form. In addition, regenerates 2% of maximum mana every 5 sec.
    Guardian: Grants 50% of Agility as Intellect, increases hit rating by 100%. In addition, regenerates 2% of maximum mana every 5 sec.
    Restoration: Grants 50% of Intellect as Agility and 100% of Spirit as hit rating and expertise rating, and increases armor by 95% while in Bear Form. In addition, damage spells cost no mana.

Hunter (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)

Survival
  • Counterattack has been removed.
  • Hunting Party (Passive) no longer increases your Agility by 2%.

Mage (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Shatter (Passive) [updated] Is now trainable by all specs.
  • Improved Blink (Passive) [updated] Is now trainable by all specs.
  • Burning Soul (Passive) [updated] Is now trainable by all specs.
  • Improved Counterspell (Passive) [updated] Is now trainable by all specs.
  • Living Bomb [updated] Is now trainable by all specs.
  • Deep Freeze [updated] Is now trainable by all specs.
  • Alter Time [new] Alter the fabric of time, causing the caster to return to their current location, health, mana, and conditions after 4 sec. Effect negated if the caster dies within the 4 sec before the effect occurs.

Arcane
  • Arcane Blast [updated] Is now exclusive to Arcane.
  • Arcane Missiles [updated] Is now exclusive to Arcane.
  • Arcane Orb [new] Launches an Arcane Orb forward from the Mage's position, dealing 302 Arcane damage every second to all nearby enemy targets for 15 sec.

Fire
  • Fireball [updated] Is now exclusive to Fire.
  • Pyroblast [updated] Now states that your direct damage critical strikes have a chance to make your next pyroblast instant cast and cost no mana, in addition to its previous effects.
  • Flame Orb[updated] Is now exclusive to Fire.

Frost
  • Frostbolt [updated] Is now exclusive to Frost.
  • Brain Freeze (passive) [updated] Your direct damage spells have a 15% chance to cause your next Frostfire Bolt spell to be instant cast and cost no mana.
  • Frost Orb [new] Launches a Frost Orb forward from the Mage's position, dealing 302 Frost damage every second to the closest enemy target for 15 sec. Targets damaged by the Frost Orb are slowed by 40% for 2 sec.

Talents

Level 15
  • (Level 15) New - Ice Ward replaces Cone of Cold. "When an enemy strikes the target, all enemies within 10 yds will become frozen in place for 5 sec. 1 charge. lasts 30 sec."
  • (Level 30/60) All Level 30 talents have been swapped with Level 60 talents.
  • (Level 75/90) All Level 75 talents have been swapped with Level 90 talents.

Paladin (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Seal of Command is back and trainable at level 3.
  • Judgement has a 6 second CD, down from 8.
  • Word of Glory now has no cooldown for Protection and Retribution instead of just Holy.
  • Supplication, a new version of Crusade, is a passive ability that increases the effect of your Flash of Light if cast within 15 seconds of killing a target that yields experience or honor.
  • Blessing of Kings no longer increases magical resistances.
  • Seal of Insight increases your healing done by 5% in addition to it's current effect.
  • Heart of the Crusader is a new passive ability that increases your mounted speed by 20%.
  • Blessing of Might increases mastery instead of attack power/restoring mana.
  • Blinding Light Emits a dazzling light in all directions, blinding enemies within 10 yards, causing them to wander disoriented for 6 seconds. 3 minutes cooldown, instant cast, 20% base mana

Talents
  • Speed of Light
    1 minute cooldown, instant cast
    Increases your movement speed by 60% for 6 seconds, in addition:
    Holy
    Reduces damage taken by 20% for 12 seconds.
    Protection
    Increases damage done by 10% for 12 seconds.
    Retribution
    Radiates 1000 healing to allies within 10 yards for 12 seconds.
  • Long Arm of the Law now lasts for 2 seconds, down from 4.
  • Burden of Guilt Your Judgement hits fill your target with doubt and remorse, reducing movement speed by 50% for 12 seconds.

Holy
  • Divine Plea is now exclusive to Holy.
  • Divine Light is now exclusive to Holy.
  • Holy Light is now exclusive to Holy.
  • Holy Radiance is now exclusive to Holy.
  • Devotion Aura is now "Inspire all party members within 40 yards, granting them immunity to Silence and Interrupt effects and reducing all Fire, Frost and Shadow damage by 20%. Lasts 6 seconds. 2 minute cooldown."
  • Holy Wrath is now "Sends bolts of power in all directions, causing 2727 Holy damage divided among all targets within 10 yds and prevents targets from causing critical effecs for the next 6 seconds. 1.5 sec cast, 6% base mana."

Protection
  • Hammer of the Righteous Hammer the current target for 39% weapon damage, causing a wave of light that hits all targets within 8 yards for 1192 Holy damage and reduces their physical damage done by 10% for 30 seconds. Grants a charge of Holy Power. Exclusive to Protection and Retribution.

Retribution
  • Judgments of the Bold (Passive) is now "Your Judgement hits grant one charge of Holy Power and increase the physical damage taken by your target by 4% for 12 sec."
  • New - Crusader's Zeal (Passive) is now "Your normal melee attacks have a chance to increase your attack speed by 25% for your next 3 melee swings."
  • Seal of Justice Fills the Paladin with Holy Light, causing direct attacks to reduce the target's movement speed by 50% for 6 sec and deal 12 additional holy damage.
  • Exorcism Causes 3250 Holy damage to an enemy target and generates a charge of Holy Power. Your auto attacks have a 20% chance to activate Exorcism. Instant cast. Exclusive to Retribution.
  • Sanctity of Battle (Passive) Haste effects lower the cooldown and global cooldown of your Judgement, Crusader Strike and Hammer of the Righteous.
  • Divine Storm An area attack that consumes 3 charges of Holy Power to cause 100% weapon damage to enemies within 8 yards. Exclusive to Retribution.
  • Hammer of the Righteous Hammer the current target for 39% weapon damage, causing a wave of light that hits all targets within 8 yards for 1192 Holy damage and reduces their physical damage done by 10% for 30 seconds. Grants a charge of Holy Power. Exclusive to Protection and Retribution.

Priest (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)

  • New - Dark Thoughts - Level 10 Gives 70% pushback reduction for Shadow abilities. Passive.
  • New - Holy Focus - Level 10 Gives 70% pushback reduction for Discipline and Holy abilities. Passive.
    *Probably intended to be spec specific passives.

Discipline
  • Holy Fire is now exclusive to Discipline & Holy.
  • Greater Heal is now exclusive to Discipline & Holy.
  • Prayer of Mending is now exclusive to Discipline & Holy.
  • Hymn of Hope is now exclusive to Discipline.

Holy
  • Holy Fire is now exclusive to Discipline & Holy.
  • Greater Heal is now exclusive to Discipline & Holy.
  • Prayer of Mending is now exclusive to Discipline & Holy.
  • Renew is now exclusive to Holy.
  • Heal is now exclusive to Holy.
  • Binding Heal is now exclusive to Holy.
  • Divine Hymn is now exclusive to Holy.

Shadow
  • It would appear Mind Blast & Devouring Plague have been removed completely - talents affect the former though so potentially just a typo.

Rogue (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)

  • Restless Strikes is now available to all Rogues.
  • Quickening is now available to all Rogues but no longer increases healing received.

Assassination
  • Backstab replaced with Dispatch - Level 70 Deals 200% weapon damage + 766 damage. Requires dagger in Main Hand. Awards one combo point. 30 Energy. Melee Range. Only useable on targets below 35% HP.
  • Envenom is now exclusive to Assassination.

Subtlety
  • Backstab is now exclusive to Subtlety.

Talents
Level 75
  • Deadly Brew changed to trigger from any poisons, up from Mind-Numbing, Instant and Wound Poison.

Shaman (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Call of the Ancestors has been removed.
  • Call of the Elements has been removed.
  • Call of the Spirits has been removed.
  • Healing Stream Totem has been removed.
  • Magma Totem has been removed.
  • Purge has been removed.
  • Rockbiter Weapon has been removed.
  • Stoneclaw Totem has been removed.
  • Water Breathing has been removed.

Elemental:
  • Lava Burst is now exclusive to Elemental.

Restoration:
  • New - Healing Focus (Passive): "Reduces the cast time of Healing Wave and Greater Healing Wave by 0.5 sec and reduces the pushback suffered from damaging attacks while casting any Shaman healing spell by 70%."
  • Healing Wave is now exclusive to Restoration.
  • Greater Healing Wave is now exclusive to Restoration.
  • Improved Cleanse Spirit replaces Cleanse Spirit for Restoration.

Warlock (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)

  • New - Curse of Enfeeblement - Level 17 "Combines and replaces Curse of Weakness and Curse of Tongues to cause the target to deal 30% less physical damage and cast 30% slower for 30 seconds. Less effective on dungeon and raid bosses. Instant. 4% of Base Mana."
  • New - Unending Resolve - Level 64 "Hardens the Warlocks skin causing them to take 50% reduced damage and prevent spells from being interrupted for 12seconds. 3 Minute Cooldown. 10% of Base Mana."
  • New - Demonic Portal - Level 88 "Creates a demonic gateway between two locations. Stepping into the gateway causes any party member to be instantly teleported to the other gateway. Limit 5 charges, grants 1 charge every 15 seconds. 5 Second Cast. 70 Yard Range. 10% of Base Mana."
  • Shadow Ward is being replaced with Twilight Ward. Twilight Ward is learned at Level 34 and absorbs 4026 Shadow or Holy damage, lasting 30seconds. Instant. 30 Second Cooldown. 4% of Base Mana.
  • Fel Flame has been changed and now no longer increases the duration of Unstable Affliction or Immolate. Fel Flame now deals 311 Shadow damage to an enemy. Instant Cast. 40 Yard Range. 2% of Base Mana.
  • Dark Intent has been changed and is now a raid wide 6% spell power buff lasting 1 hour. Instant. 30 yard range.
  • Drain Life is now under the effects of Empowered Channeling. Empowered Channeling increases the duration of a channeling effect if the effect is recast before the initial one expires. 40 Yard Range. 2% Base Mana.
  • Demon Armor has been removed.
  • Fel Armor has been changed and now partially includes the current Demon Armor. Increasing Armor by 2603, Stamina by 10% and health generated through spells and effects by 10%. Passive.
  • Health Funnel is now under the effects of Empowered Channeling. Empowered Channeling increases the duration of a channeling effect if the effect is recast before the initial one expires. 45 Yard Range.
  • Demonic Circle: Teleport now removes all snares as a baseline effect.

Affliction
  • New - Soulburn: Health Funnel - Level 27 "Grants Soulburn empowerment to your Health Funnel causing it to instantly heal your pet for 36% and reduce all damage they take by 30% for 10 seconds. Passive."
  • New - Malefic Grasp - Level 42 "Deals 1052 Shadow Damage over 3 seconds, in addition all damage over time abilities tick 100% faster whilst the target is affected by Malefic Grasp. Recasting Malefic Grasp before it expires increases the duration of the channel by 3 seconds, stacking 5 times. Channeled - 40 Yard Range. 2% Base Mana"
  • New - Soulburn: Fear - Level 47 "Grants Soulburn empowerment to your Fear causing it to instantly horrify the target, making them run in horror for 4 seconds. Passive."
  • Nightfall has been changed slightly, it now causes Corruption and Drain Life ticks to have a 4% chance to make your next Malefic Grasp instantly deal damage and increase the tick rate of all damage over time abilities on the target by 100% for 9 seconds.
  • Soulburn: Demonic Circle: Teleport now removes all stuns and snares from the Warlock, increasing their movement speed by 50% for 8 seconds and making them immune to all snares and roots for the duration.
  • Soulburn is now exclusive to Affliction.
  • Drain Soul is now exclusive to Affliction.
  • Seed of Corruption is now exclusive to Affliction.
  • Bane of Agony is now exclusive to Affliction and lasts 1 minute, up from 24 seconds.
  • Haunt has been removed.

Demonology
  • New Resource - Demonic Fury - Level 10 "Shadowbolt, Corruption, Soul Fire, Drain Life and demon attacks grant Demonic Fury. Demonic Fury increases the damage you deal by up to 10% (Affected by Mastery)"
  • New - Wild Imps - Level 32 "Summons one Wild Imp that casts five Firebolts at the target. The cost and number of imps increases as your Demonic Fury increases. Each Firebolt grants 10 Demonic Fury. Instant. 30 Second Cooldown. 40 Yard Range."
  • New - Metamorphosis: Carrion Swarm - Level 86 "Whilst under the effects of Metamorphosis your Shadowflame ability costs Demonic Fury and knocks back targets infront of you. Passive."
  • Metamorphosis: Immolation Aura has been slightly changed. "Whilst under the effects of Metamorphosis your Hellfire ability costs Demonic Fury however no longer requires channeling and no longer deals damage to the Warlock. Passive."
  • Hand of Gul'dan has been significantly changed. Hand of Gul'dan no longer refreshes the duration of Immolate, however Hand of Gul'dan is now an instant ability with a unique spell cost.
    Hand of Gul'dan now summons a meteor at the targets location dealing damage after 2.5 seconds within a 6 yard area. Anyone hit by the meteor is then affected by Curse of Gul'dan.
    Curse of Gul'dan decreases the movement speed of the target by 35% for 10 seconds, stacking 3 times.
    If the target isn't affected by Curse of Gul'dan already the Warlock will gain 25 Demonic Fury.
    Charges for Hand of Gul'dan are passively gained once every 15 seconds and cap at 3 charges. Instant. 40 Yard Range. 5% Base Mana.
  • Decimation has been changed. It now flat out reduces the cast time of Soul Fire by 2 seconds, however when dealing damage with Soul Fire to a target above 25% HP the cast time of Soul Fire is doubled for 30 seconds.
  • Demonic Freedom has replaced Demonic Empowerment and causes your pet to regain 25% of its HP, remove all snares, stuns, fears, banishes, horrors and movement impairing effects for 15seconds. Instant. 1.5 Minute Cooldown. 50,000 Yard Range.
  • Demonic Leap no longer requires Metamorphosis, however it will activate Metamorphosis. Instant. 10 Second Cooldown.
  • Hellfire is now exclusive to Demonology.
  • Shadowflame is now exclusive to Demonology.
  • Bane of Doom is now exclusive to Demonology.

Destruction
  • New Resource - Infernal Embers - Level 42 "Infernal Embers is a hidden aura that gives you an alternative resource bar. Infernal Embers are obtained by casting Incinerate on targets affected by Immolate and consumed by Conflagrate and Soul Fire. Consuming Infernal Embers causes your Conflagrate or Soul Fire to deal more damage based on the amount of Infernal Embers obtained."
  • New - Fire and Brimstone - Level 62 "Fire and Brimstone empowers your next Immolate, Incinerate, Conflagrate or Soul Fire causing it to hit all enemies within 15 yards of the target. Instant. 10 Second Cooldown."
  • New - Destructive Influence - Level 86 "Your demons attacks reduce the cast time of your Soul Fire by .1 second, stacking 40 times. Passive."
  • Rain of Fire has been changed and now deals an additional 50% damage if the target is affected by Immolate.
  • Bane of Havoc has been changed and now banes the target for 15 seconds causing the next 4 single target spells cast on another target to affect the baned target also. Instant. 2 Minute Cooldown. 40 Yard Range. 4% Base Mana.
  • Shadowburn has been changed. Shadowburn is now only useable on a target below 20% health and if the target dies within 5 seconds of the cast and yields experience of honor the Warlock gains 5 Infernal Embers. Instant. 15 Second Cooldown. 40 Yard Range. 5% Base Mana.
  • Immolate is now exclusive to Destruction.
  • Rain of Fire is now exclusive to Destruction.
  • Incinerate is now exclusive to Destruction.
  • Chaos Bolt has been removed.

Talents

Level 15
  • Dark Regeneration now heals the Warlock for 50% of their HP over 20 seconds, down from 25 seconds. In addition, it now also increases healing received by 25% for the duration.
  • Soul Leech now heals the Warlock for 15% of the damage caused by Shadowbolt, Incinerate and Malefic Grasp, down from 25%.
  • Harvest Life is no longer affected by the Empowered Channeling effect.
Level 30
  • Howl of Terror cooldown is now reduced by 1 second every time the Warlock is struck by a damaging ability.
Level 45
  • Hour of Twilight has been removed and replaced with Spell Drain.
  • Spell Drain has been moved and is now a Level 45 talent.
  • Sacrificial Pact now deals 50% of your demons health in damage to your demon in exchange for 10 second damage immunity, down from 100% of demons health. Cooldown is now 3 minutes, down from 5minutes.
Level 60
  • New - Blood Fear "Your Fear is now an instant cast however costs 10% of your maximum health to cast."
  • New - Burning Rush "Your Life Tap now increases your movement speed by 25% for 8 seconds."
  • New - Dark Bargain "Absorbs damage equal to 20% of the Warlocks maximum health, lasting 30 seconds. Any shield still remaining when the spell expires is dealt as damage to the Warlock. Instant Cast. 30 Second Cooldown."
  • Bloodstone has been removed.
  • Nether Ward has been removed.
Level 90
  • New - Mannoroth's Fury
    "Passive: Your Shadowbolt, Incinerate and Malefic Grasp deal 10% splash damage to all enemies between the Warlock and their target.
    Active: Splash affect is increased to 100% splash damage for 20 seconds, however the passive is dropped after this until the cooldown is reset. Instant. 2 Minute Cooldown."

Warrior (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Battle Stance no longer restricts which abilities can be used and now only increases damage done by 10%.
  • Defensive Stance no longer restricts which abilities can be used and now only decreases damage taken by 10% and significantly increases threat generation.
  • Berserker Stance no longer restricts which abilities can be used and now only increases damage done by Whirlwind and Cleave by 20%.
  • Heroic Strike's cooldown has been decreased to 1.5 sec, down from 3 sec.
  • Charge now generates 20 rage, up from 15, and stuns for 1.5 sec, up from 1 sec. Additionally, it can now always be used in combat.
  • Heroic Throw's cooldown has been decreased to 30 sec, down from 60 sec.
  • Thunder Clap now reduces enemy damage done by 10% instead of increasing the time between their attacks by 20%.
  • Battle Shout now increases grants a percent-based Attack Power buff to the entire raid instead of granting Strength and Agility.
  • Shield Wall no longer requires Shields.
  • Intimidating Shout now costs 10 rage, down from 25, and its cooldown has been decreased to 1 minute, down from 2 minutes. However, all enemies affected by it now cower in terror instead of the 5 non-targeted enemies fleeing in terror.
  • Meat Cleaver, a new passive ability, increases damage done by Cleave or Whirlwind by 10% for 10 sec when you use Cleave or Whirlwind. It stacks up to 3 times.
  • Spell Reflection no longer requires Shields.
  • Intervene no longer reduces the target's threat.

Arms
  • Two-Handed Weapon Specialization is now called Seasoned Soldier and also increases the damage of any of your bleeds by 20%.
  • Mortal Strike's cooldown has been increased to 6 sec, up from 4.5 sec.
  • Slam is now exclusive to Arms and has a 0.5 sec cast time, down from 1.5 sec.
  • Overpower is now exclusive to Arms. A cooldown of 1.5 seconds was added, but this seems mostly cosmetic unless they plan to take Overpower off the global cooldown.
  • Colossus Smash is now exclusive to Arms and its rage cost has been increased to 80, up from 20.

Fury
  • Dual Wield Specialization and Precision have been combined into Crazed Berserker but the increased chance to hit has been removed.
  • Bloodthirst's cooldown has been increased to 6 sec, up from 3 sec, but now generates 10 rage instead of costing 20 rage.
  • Wild Strike has been added. It is an attack using your offhand weapon that applies the Mortal Strike healing debuff and costs 30 rage. It has no cooldown.
  • Raging Blow now costs 30 rage, up from 20.
  • Bloodsurge is now affects Wild Strike instead of Slam. When it activates, it also reduces the global cooldown to 1 sec after Wild Strike is used.

Protection
  • Sentinel is now called Unwavering Sentinel and now only increases Stamina by 15% but also decreases your chance to be critically hit by 6%.
  • Shield Slam now generates 10 rage, instead of consuming it.
  • Shield Block is now exclusive to Protection and has no cooldown, down from 1 minute, but costs 80 rage, up from 0. It also now increases your chance to block by 25% for the next incoming melee attack instead of for the next 10 seconds.
  • Revenge is now exclusive to Protection and costs no rage but has a 10 sec cooldown, up from 5 sec.
  • Last Stand now has no cooldown, down from 3 minutes, but costs 80 rage, up from 0.
  • Devastate now costs no rage, down from 15, but has a 3 sec cooldown, up from 0.
  • Bastion of Defense has been heavily modified and contains a combination of the Toughness, Shield Mastery, and the old Bastion of Defense.
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