01/04 Hotfixes, Blue posts, Comics

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Recent In-Game Fixes - January 2010 - 1/4
Quote from: Bornakk (Source)
Listed below are recent fixes we have applied to the game. Keep in mind that some of these changes may not be active until after the realm has been restarted.

To review previous in-game fixes, please visit: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=21723843880&sid=1

01/04/10
  • The mail Bloodsunder Bracers have had their appropriate socket bonus added.
  • The proc on Zod?s Repeating Longbow should no longer reset auto shots.
  • The gear requirement for heroic Halls of Reflection has been increased.



Blue posts
Quote from Blizzard staff
Zod's Repeating Longbow (Zod's Repeating Longbow)
Zod's should not reset your autoshot. This is a bug. We can and will hotfix the problem with Zod's Repeating Longbow. This hotfix should be deployed in the next day or two, barring unforeseen issues, etc. [...] Zod's should also not proc on Wyvern Sting for obvious reasons. (Source)

Deathbringer's Will (Deathbringer's Will)
We have taken a closer look at this trinket and the stats that it uses aren't the best for some classes/specs. We are looking at making some updates to improve the random stats it picks from.

[...] Just to try and avoid confusion, every class will still get 3 procs.

We know not every stat is as good for spec A as spec B and that?s just the nature of the item. It isn?t intended to be the best possible item for every melee class with the single most desired buff always available. If armor pen isn?t attractive for certain players, then a trinket that procs armor pen sometimes may also not be attractive but that's the nature of an item like this.

The main issue I'm concerned with is ArP procs for specs that easily hard cap that stat.
We are concerned about proc?ing a stat that can be readily capped especially on an item that provides a rather large passive armor pen bonus already. It could end up just never being attractive enough. Right now we are strongly considering just having it proc base-stat (strength, agility, etc.), haste, or crit depending on spec. We?ll be sure to let you know if we make this change. (Source)

Bryntroll better than Shadow's Edge / Shadowmourne? (Bryntroll, the Bone Arbiter)
We're happy with Bryntroll for now. We'll see when the heroic version gets out there.

If anything, the other weapon procs need to be closer to this level.

Also note that Shadow's Edge isn't necessarily designed to be the ultimate weapon available, given that acquiring one might not require anything more than having a large bank account to swing around. If heroic Bryntroll proved better than Shadowmourne, that might be a bigger issue, but I'm a little skeptical that will be the case. (Source)

Icecrown Weapon Procs
The general answer is "yes" since I already recently mentioned a change we'd like to make on Nibelung. What we won't do is make a lot of really fast changes to procs. Some procs can start out pretty weak, but we are well versed in our players' abilities to find ways to use things and need to be careful on buffing something as tricky as a proc.

I can say that Heartpierce is being looked at, but we don't have any details to share on changes at the moment. (Source)

Itemization philosophy and procs
As a more detailed explanation, our itemization philosophy has evolved a lot from vanilla where in comparison to today?s gear it almost seemed like random stats were thrown together like everybody's classic favorite Strength and Spirit items. One of the biggest risks we feel like we face currently is itemization becoming too stale and predictable where the only thing you get out of a new tier of content are the current item with a few more stats on it.

Procs are one of the ways we?re trying to address this and we expect you?ll continue to see a lot more of them for the future. With any new feature, though, it?s going to take time to figure out which implementations succeed or fail. Also keep in mind that we know we haven?t always had the best track record with items that give up some of their stat budget for procs which is particularly true of casters.

We aren?t ready to announce any specific changes at this time, but rest assured we do intend to tweak the procs over time. This is a model you?re likely to see a lot more of in future content.

Any plans for more procs on other pieces of gear, such as the current shaman tier shoulder proc and ashen verdict ring procs?
We don't have any specifics to share, but yes, we definitely want to do more of that. Also, small set bonus like Onyxia?s Shard of the Scale / Flame trinkets are things we want to do more of. (Source)

Block Rating
In the Cataclysmic long term, this stat will be going away.

For the short term, we just stopped itemizing it because it?s generally not a very attractive tanking stat except in very specific cases. I give a /wave to those who Anub'arak?s adds tanks. In the current content the chance to prevent a small amount of damage isn?t worth the budget, nor do we really want tanks to be at that 100% chance to block.

Dungeon Vote Kick
The vote kick design is still really new and we do want to refine/improve it over time. It's a really fine line to walk between preventing players from abusing the system but also allowing people to remove problematic players. When/if we have updates to provide regarding this we will post them. (Source)

Bloodlust / Heroism Drums?
We?re considering it. There are two big considerations at play here. One is we?re unsure the buff is as mandatory as some players think it is. It certainly feels like a big boost when it happens, but part of that is because so many groups use the Bloodlust / Heroism moment as the time to blow all their cooldowns and go all out. While it is unarguably a buff (though for some specs more than others), it?s role as ?blow everything!? is significant too. Secondly, while we ultimately wouldn?t mind having a weaker consumable available (like Kings and Fortitude) for groups, we?re not crazy about the idea of every character running around leveling, using Bloodlust for every kill quest. At that point, it just feels like a mandatory consumable and anything designed to make it feel less mandatory (like an expensive cost) feels bad. (Source)

Ranged Weapon / Relic Slot
You can?t just compare any two item slots across classes. Classes are designed with their total gear package in mind. It?s only an issue if an item slot is such a major upgrade for one type of character that character progression grows too quickly with certain drops. The closest thing to this is probably weapons, which are generally better for melee than casters. However, the rest of a caster?s armor benefits him or her more than it does the melee class, so overall things average out.

That said, we?re not 100% happy with the relic implementation (or ranged weapons for non-hunters for that matter). They feel a little too much like a "stat stick" and the bonuses have shifted to feeling pretty passive. This is something we?d like to improve in the future. (Source)

Fate of the Armor Penetration Gear in 4.0
There isn't a cut and dry sort of answer that we can give you on this just yet. There are many different factors that will need to come into account.

There is potential for anything that is currently considered Best in Slot now to not be once changes begin going in for Cataclysm.

You will also need to take into account potential changes in talents and abilities (as well as any other game related changes), and it leaves a bit of wiggle room for some theorycrafting once these changes start being discussed and experienced in more detail.

To that end though, we don't plan to leave anyone high and dry and are planning out a series of informational releases that should start giving out more detail on these sorts of changes. We'll be doing what we can to answer as many questions as possible on the changes to stats in particular since we know that it is an area that many people focus on. We also want to make sure that these changes are easy to understand and leave room for any additional developmental adjustments that are needed. As always, we'll be keeping an eye on constructive feedback and discussions as well. (Source)

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