Rise of Azshara Preview: Navigate the Perils of Nazjatar in New Benthic Gear
Originally Posted by blizzard (Blue Tracker
/ Official Forums
)
The odds are stacked against you in Queen Azshara’s home territory—but with the right equipment, you can turn the tides in your favor.
In Rise of Azshara, we’re introducing a new type of equipment called Benthic gear, which you’ll earn and collect while adventuring in the naga domain of Nazjatar.
As you explore Nazjatar, you’ll collect Prismatic Manapearls—soulbound currency you can spend to purchase Benthic tokens and upgrades. These bind-to-account tokens can be used to gain a piece of upgradable Benthic gear specific to your armor type (cloth, leather, mail, plate), starting at item level 385. With enough time and effort, players can dedicate their hard-earned Manapearls to upgrade pieces to ilvl 425, just shy of Heroic-level raid gear (ilvl 430).
Speak with Voidbender Zorlan in Newhome (Horde) or Voidbinder Sturzah in Mezzamere (Alliance) to upgrade your Benthic gear.
Besides purchasing Benthic tokens with Manapearls, you’ll also sometimes find them in treasure chests and on enemies throughout the zone.
Each piece of Benthic gear boasts a thematic bonus that applies in Nazjatar and the upcoming Azshara’s Eternal Palace raid. These bonuses might provide effects that boost your damage, slow down your foes, or even increase your mount speed while adventuring through this perilous region. Customize your character with up to six unique bonuses. Put together pieces to create a powerful set for combat, collect a set optimized for exploration, or mix and match to have the best from both worlds. Additionally, each piece has predetermined secondary stats which allow you to have more control over your character’s build.
Benthic gear is currently available for early testing on the Rise of Azshara Public Test Realm, so make sure you jump in to check it out!
Forbes Interview - Why Rise Of Azshara Is The Fix-It Patch For World Of Warcraft
Forbes recently interviewed Ion Hazzikostas again on the upcoming Patch 8.2.
WoW Classic Feedback - Bug Hit Table Thread
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker
/ Official Forums
)
[Bug] Hit tables
As I suggested in my first reply, we did a deep dive on this one to compare combat table values directly between our Reference client and WoW Classic. Apologies for the data dump, but because your observations were so detailed, we wanted to be equally detailed in our reply!
We created Troll Warriors in both games and watched the combat table values for auto-attacks.
In all cases, the Reference client combat table values matched the Classic combat table values:
A briefer look at having non-maxed weapon skills also showed identical values between the Reference client and Classic. We also ran several tests while dual wielding, and the results from those tests was also identical between Reference and Classic.
Based on these results, we are confident that the combat behavior in Classic properly reflects the combat behavior of 1.12 WoW. However, we’re always grateful for players looking out for discrepancies, so keep your feedback coming!
Stress Test Feedback
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker
/ Official Forums
)
Stress Test Complete -- THANK YOU!
We have now completed the WoW Classic Stress Test that began yesterday at 2:00 p.m. PDT. We’re very pleased with the amount of participation we saw, and we’re happy to report that we got a great deal of highly useful data, as well as new issues that were uncovered by your efforts to log in and play.
The closed beta realms remain available for those testers.
Thank you very much to everyone who participated in this stress test!
Continue reading...
Originally Posted by blizzard (Blue Tracker
/ Official Forums
)
The odds are stacked against you in Queen Azshara’s home territory—but with the right equipment, you can turn the tides in your favor.
In Rise of Azshara, we’re introducing a new type of equipment called Benthic gear, which you’ll earn and collect while adventuring in the naga domain of Nazjatar.
As you explore Nazjatar, you’ll collect Prismatic Manapearls—soulbound currency you can spend to purchase Benthic tokens and upgrades. These bind-to-account tokens can be used to gain a piece of upgradable Benthic gear specific to your armor type (cloth, leather, mail, plate), starting at item level 385. With enough time and effort, players can dedicate their hard-earned Manapearls to upgrade pieces to ilvl 425, just shy of Heroic-level raid gear (ilvl 430).
Speak with Voidbender Zorlan in Newhome (Horde) or Voidbinder Sturzah in Mezzamere (Alliance) to upgrade your Benthic gear.
Besides purchasing Benthic tokens with Manapearls, you’ll also sometimes find them in treasure chests and on enemies throughout the zone.
Each piece of Benthic gear boasts a thematic bonus that applies in Nazjatar and the upcoming Azshara’s Eternal Palace raid. These bonuses might provide effects that boost your damage, slow down your foes, or even increase your mount speed while adventuring through this perilous region. Customize your character with up to six unique bonuses. Put together pieces to create a powerful set for combat, collect a set optimized for exploration, or mix and match to have the best from both worlds. Additionally, each piece has predetermined secondary stats which allow you to have more control over your character’s build.
Benthic gear is currently available for early testing on the Rise of Azshara Public Test Realm, so make sure you jump in to check it out!
Forbes Interview - Why Rise Of Azshara Is The Fix-It Patch For World Of Warcraft
Forbes recently interviewed Ion Hazzikostas again on the upcoming Patch 8.2.
- Heart of Azeroth and Essences
- Rise of Azshara is the fruits of a lot of Blizzard's reflection on feedback they've been hearing from the community since Battle for Azeroth first came out.
- You will unlock the first major socket for your Heart of Azeroth just by being 120 and doing the Nazjatar introduction followed by the Magni quest chain to unlock it. There is no neck level requirement for the first major slot.
- Smaller sockets on the neck will give boosts to stamina as you progress your neck between neck level 52 to 67 so that health pools stay in line with the damage and healing increases.
- Heart of Azeroth Levels 55 and 65 are the unlocks for the two minor slots.
- The Essence system functions much like the glyph system in that once you learn as essence, you are free to switch them in and out in either a rested area or by using a Tome of the Clear Mind.
- The tuning of essences is on par with the Legion legendaries.
- Nazjatar and Mechagon
- There are cosmetic perks that come with leveling up your bodyguard in Nazjatar.
- Is seems as if Nazjatar will not have any Jeremy Feasel "mad science" WoW Secret Finding Discord secrets.
- The team is aiming for more variety in Nazjatar world quests. There are still some kill quests, however.
- There is no emissary for Mechagon.
- There will be no time-gating in Nazjatar, but some reputation requirements to pieces of the major story for pacing and passage of time.
- Using reputation thresholds to advance the story feels better than rigid weekly chapters that you have to just wait until next week to unlock. There's something the player can do to speed it up.
- The Mechagon dungeon and Eternal Palace raid will not be available on day 1 of the patch, but when season 3 starts a couple of weeks into the patch.
- Season 3 Affix - Beguiling
- Beguiling is the new affix for Mythic + Season 3. It represents the minions of Queen Azshara invading the dungeons of Kul Tiras and Zandalar. There are three types of handmaidens that will be present in a variety of pulls in different configurations from week to week.
- These handmaidens can have shadow, arcane, or frost powers. They have different effects that will change the way you approach certain pulls. Certain pulls that you skip might have to be done this time around.
- Flying
- The Rustbolt Resistance reputation will be available on day 1.
- They made sure to make Pathfinder Part II tied to outdoor content. There are no requirements to do any dungeons or raids.
- They believe the amount of time it takes to unlock flying this time around will be on par with Legion.
- Benthic Gear
- Benthic gear will help fill gaps in gear acquisition.
- The baseline Benthic tokens are BoA so you can use them to catch up your alts.
- Rare Spawns
- The rare spawns in Mechagon that have longer timers involve hours, not days.
- Silver-bordered mobs these days have evolved into named targets, not rares. These new ones are more true rares in the style of Timeless Isle.
- They have been looking at coordinating these spawns across servers ans shards so that there isn't any shard hopping.
- These rares can have cosmetics, pieces of gear, and punch cards for the Mechagon trinket.
- Operation: Mechagon Dungeon
- The bosses in the dungeon are meant to feel more like a small raid encounter.
- There are some hidden challenges in the dungeon for the more mythic-raiding types who want a bigger challenge, much like the Nightbane run from Legion Karazhan.
- Mechagon dungeon loot is on part with the normal mode raid, and then scaled up a little bit beyond that.
- Some of the most powerful punch cards for the Mechagon trinket are found in the dungeon.
- There is an essence you can unlock from the dungeon.
- Class Changes and Revamps
- Full class overhauls are something that happens in a new expansion update and not a patch.
- Legion was an exception because it reinvented so many specs from the ground up.
- Rotational changes, removing/adding abilities, etc are a jarring experience. This is the sort of change that is best received within the broader sweeping changes of a new expansion.
- They will always address under performing talents or classes in patches.
- There are definitely specs on the radar for a rework, but nothing to announce now.
WoW Classic Feedback - Bug Hit Table Thread
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker
/ Official Forums
)
[Bug] Hit tables
As I suggested in my first reply, we did a deep dive on this one to compare combat table values directly between our Reference client and WoW Classic. Apologies for the data dump, but because your observations were so detailed, we wanted to be equally detailed in our reply!
We created Troll Warriors in both games and watched the combat table values for auto-attacks.
- We checked three player levels – Levels 15, 40, and 60.
- At each level, our weapon skill was maxed, and we used the same weapon for all tests.
- All attacks were against enemy creatures, not other players, to remove any additional variables.
- We tested attacking creatures at -5, +0, +1, +2, +3, +5, and +15 levels relative to our level (so for the level 15 test, we attacked level 10, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, and 35 mobs).
- For our level 60 test, there were no normal mobs available at higher levels. We instead attacked elite raid creatures at +1, +2, and +3 levels.
- The exact same creature IDs were tested against on both clients.
In all cases, the Reference client combat table values matched the Classic combat table values:
- Creatures that are 3 levels above the player have a 14% Parry chance in our Reference client. This holds true for our Classic client as well.
- Creatures at your level have a 5% chance to Dodge your attacks. Each additional level the target has over the player grants them 0.5% additional chance to dodge. This is observed in Reference client and in Classic.
- Players have an 8% chance to miss a creature that is 3 levels above them in our Reference client. This holds true for our Classic client as well.
- Critical Strike chance is reduced by 1% per each additional level the target has over the player. (So if you have a 4% chance to crit an at-level target, you have a 1% chance to crit a +3-level target, in both clients.)
A briefer look at having non-maxed weapon skills also showed identical values between the Reference client and Classic. We also ran several tests while dual wielding, and the results from those tests was also identical between Reference and Classic.
Based on these results, we are confident that the combat behavior in Classic properly reflects the combat behavior of 1.12 WoW. However, we’re always grateful for players looking out for discrepancies, so keep your feedback coming!
Stress Test Feedback
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker
/ Official Forums
)
Stress Test Complete -- THANK YOU!
We have now completed the WoW Classic Stress Test that began yesterday at 2:00 p.m. PDT. We’re very pleased with the amount of participation we saw, and we’re happy to report that we got a great deal of highly useful data, as well as new issues that were uncovered by your efforts to log in and play.
The closed beta realms remain available for those testers.
Thank you very much to everyone who participated in this stress test!
Continue reading...