Battle.Net Balance Active, Blue Posts, Fan Art, MMO Report

[chaud]

Battle.Net Balance Active
The previously mentioned Battle.net balance is now active! The FAQ has also been updated with some additions:

• In the near future, players will also be able to use Battle.net Balance for the digital World of Warcraft Battle Chest and World of Warcraft digital upgrades.
• Any amount you add to your Battle.net Balance will not be refundable (except as otherwise provided by law).

Battle.net Balance is now live! As we announced previously, Battle.net Balance is a new feature that gives players an alternate way to purchase Blizzard digital products and services directly through their Battle.net accounts. Players are now able add to their Battle.net Balance using a variety of payment methods, and then use that balance toward Blizzard Entertainment products and services such as World of Warcraft game time; paid services, such as realm transfers and character name changes; digital versions of select Blizzard games, including Diablo II and StarCraft II; and in-game pets and mounts. In the near future, players will be also able to use Battle.net Balance for the digital World of Warcraft Battle Chest and WoW digital upgrades. In addition, with the upcoming launch of Diablo III, players will have the option to use Battle.net Balance to buy and sell items in the game’s currency-based auction house.

For more information, check out the Battle.net Balance FAQ, or head to the Battle.net Balance page in Account Management to manage your balance.

Blue Posts

Mages and Arenas
Just off the top of my head, this is how diminishing returns works for mages:

• Deep Freeze is on the stun diminishing returns.
• Ring of Frost and Polymorph are on the disorient DR.
• The mage Frost Nova and the Water Elemental's Freeze are both on the root DR.
• Improved Cone of Cold and Shattered Barrier are on the random root DR.
• There are also several snares which are not affected by DR, such as Frostbolt

The random root DR mentioned is actually a separate category to normal roots. We reserve this only for effects that are procs, instead of those that are the general effect of a spell. This is a very subtle and subjective classification that often comes down to simply what feels right.

Currently, we think that Frost mages have too much control in PvP. This is just something that has grown over time because we always felt that these "chilling" and "freezing" effects should naturally slow you down. Part of the design that we are implementing with the Mists of Pandaria talent changes are to move some of that control Frost mages have to the talent tree. This means it will be possible for a Frost mage to choose these options, but they come at the expense of others, Arcane and Fire mages also have the opportunity to get those control choices as well! :O

The overall effect of this is that Arcane and Fire should stay about neutral in regards to their control, but frost will lose some of it. On the other hand though, it is possible for a Frost's damage to go up and be competitive with that of the other mages if they do not go for the control talents. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Inscription and Glyph Discovery
Back in May of 2010, we began tossing around ideas about how to improve Inscription. But at that time, Mists of Pandaria was still in the early stages of character talent development. As that was hashed out, it directly affected how we were then able to approach potential Inscription and glyph changes. As a matter of fact, at one point during the discussions, glyphs were going to be removed altogether. That then evolved into the idea of Prime glyphs being removed, Major glyphs being adjusted such that their added bonuses did not affect talents, and Minor glyphs being revamped so they felt more interesting.

Have no fear, I have been assured that Inscription and glyph discovery are being actively discussed in preparation for upcoming changes with Mists of Pandaria. This comes with one albeit relieving caveat: Glyphs that are now learned solely through the Book of Glyph Mastery are planned to be available through the Northrend and Minor research dailies. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Account-wide Achievements
With Mists of Pandaria, account-wide achievements will indeed become available at the Battle.net account level, and many achievements will be shared among characters. A wide array of achievements will certainly be covered, including achievements that relate to everything from raiding and PvP to maxing out professions and assorted fun challenges. We really love the idea that players will at last be able to proudly display proof of the full scope of their adventures around Azeroth, regardless of which character they choose to play on any given day.

While we are still working out the details regarding how various specific achievements will interact with the new system, once we have a bit more information to share with you, we’ll certainly let you know. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Why Mists of Pandaria?
First, for some context, we showed a lot of pandaren at BlizzCon because that was the art we had completed at the time (and obviously it's the new playable race). Are there pandaren all over the new continent? Of course. There are also some really unique cultures and new races, including some very diabolical villains in the form of the mogu, the mantid, and the sha.

As a few posters have pointed out, Pandaria starts out relatively unspoiled. (spoiler!) That isn’t going to last. The Horde versus Alliance conflict is going to continue to ratchet up in a way we've often talked about, but never really delivered before now. It gives the story more depth (we hope!) when you get to see the “before” before the “after.”

The new continent has a heavy Asian vibe, but it’s still a fantasy game and there are some very fantastic and original landscapes as well. The last few zones in particular are what we like to call "high concept." You won’t find anything like them in the real world.

With all that said, you might still be asking, "why MoP?"

We think, more than seven years into World of Warcraft's life cycle, it's time to start some new stories. Previous expansions relied heavily on heroes and villains established in the Warcraft RTS games. We aren’t content to rest on our laurels though. We want to introduce some new characters to get to know. We want to have some new enemies to fight. Perhaps, most importantly, we want to start sowing the seeds for future stories. Nothing is lamer than finding out that the boss you're supposed to kill is someone you've never heard of. It’s a lot more fun when you get to know the bad guys, get a reason to hate them, and feel like you're thwarting their diabolical plans and not just killing them for loot.

We've focused a lot on the lighter side of Mists of Pandaria as a contrast to the world-ending vibe of Cataclysm. It’s not all unicorns and butterflies however. There are dark secrets lurking beneath the new continent, and in some ways they're even more insidious, because you get to experience the beautiful new landscapes before they become threatened and sometimes even destroyed.

To summarize, we provided you all with a very basic framework for the next expansion at BlizzCon. By the time the press tour ends in March, expect to get a lot more information on the real meat of this expansion. It won't be correctly summarized by a portrait of a smiling panda chewing on bamboo.

Phasing is one of the most powerful tools in the designer toolkit. But like many powerful tools, it can cause great damage if used incorrectly. We definitely have overdone it in the past.

There is some phasing in Mists, but we try to take care not to separate friends, create ghosted mining nodes, and similarly disrupt your gameplay. What we were really referring to by the “dark secrets” is the way the story unfolds. The story in Cataclysm was something players knew from the outset -- Deathwing is back. The players were still heroes trying to undo some of the damage he caused, but they also still largely reacted to the things Deathwing and his minions had already done. In Mists we're attempting to take that one step further and have the world react to the players, and not just have the players react to the world. It gives the game a dynamic, “alive” feeling which is very much needed in a persistent-world game.

Some of the changes we’re talking about aren't going to happen right away, but we’ll build toward them in subsequent patches. While you can’t truly keep story secrets in this business, we're trying not to spoil the surprises too early. In retrospect, we’ve taken a little bit of flak for this approach, because the misconception among some players is that the new continent has no conflict. There is plenty of conflict, but a lot of it begins when you arrive (rather than in Cataclysm, where great cracks in Azeroth appeared before your adventuring began). (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Fan Art
The World of Warcraft Fan Art Section has been updated with seven new pieces of fan artwork.

MMO-Report
The MMO Report has SWTOR, The Secret World, and Uncle Casey's Mail Bag this week!

[Sj]

Must... have.... D3..... /whine

[Balo]

it does not matter what blizzard says frost will NEVER EVER EVER be competitive in pve. you people need to give up on that pipe dream and stick to pvp if you want to play frost

[lllBlackSunlll]

I'm still not so sure about MoP.

@Balo. There was once a time where Frost was perfectly viable in pvp and pve. Not that the game was completely balanced, but it does also suggest that frost may be viable again.

[Colmadero]

First page!I believe this implementation with Battle.net balance will be more secure... but if a hacker gets a hand on your account?

[Raediance]

I can't wait for Account Wide achievements. T_T

[Ryme]

So another slow day for news.

Oh well, the new quarterly meeting soon and then March and the dawn of MoP info!

[Melilithia]

I'm okay with chibi art, but... an entire update consisting only of it? ._o

[gamelyn]

I had never even heard of this Battle.net Balance thing. Was there a need for this? I wonder what their plans are. Could just be a cash flow scheme to pull in more money and float the unused portion. If that were the case, I'd rather they put more into development first. Profit is so high already.

[dockers]

Woo, account wide achieves!

[Rosary]

excellent, achievments! wonder how that will work for title rewards/mounts/pets etc. level 1 bankers running aruond with 'deaths demise' and shite :F

Achievements, not titles will be account wide. I doubt they'll make titles account-wide.

[Balo]

I'm still not so sure about MoP.

@Balo. There was once a time where Frost was perfectly viable in pvp and pve. Not that the game was completely balanced, but it does also suggest that frost may be viable again.

if your talking about in vanilla that is because it was the ONLY viable spec to play

[link_991]

I had never even heard of this Battle.net Balance thing. Was there a need for this? I wonder what their plans are. Could just be a cash flow scheme to pull in more money and float the unused portion. If that were the case, I'd rather they put more into development first. Profit is so high already.

The idea is you can deposit any money you make off Diablo 3 auctions into your battle.net account and then use it on other auctions and/or buy other Blizzard Services.

[greyghost]

I'm still not so sure about MoP.

@Balo. There was once a time where Frost was perfectly viable in pvp and pve. Not that the game was completely balanced, but it does also suggest that frost may be viable again.

I remember that time period.

It was when the vast majority of raiding content was immune to fire damage, and people half-specced into Arcane anyways.

[IrishLol]

Achievements, not titles will be account wide. I doubt they'll make titles account-wide.

Way to ruin that mans dreams...Dream Killer should be your new title.

[antonatsis]

non-refuntuble and wow digidal updates(i assume its only expansions)

[Vongimi]

The "Why Mists of Pandaria?" posts make me want MoP then anything I have ever seen before.... SO MUCH WANT

[Racerover]

"Currently, we think that Frost mages have too much control in PvP."Honest to God, we've been hearing this since season... 1,2? Devs are starting to sound like the Obama administration.

[Vesci]

Out of touch religious NUTBAGS!!!! YES, I LOVE YOU CASEY!!!! (totally not a gay thing tho)

and then there's this:

Currently, we think that Frost mages have too much control in PvP.

D'oh, really now? The point of the quote this Blizzard employee was dancing around is this:

and we have no plans to do anything about it any time soon.

[Silentshankr]

All these blue posts, and where are the blue posts about server populations. Theres no way in hell everyone on these small servers can afford to xfer all there alts to larger pop servers. Larger pop servers also dont want all these misguided toons on them either. Wheres the talk of a solution?