Armored Bloodwing Giveaway: All of the winners have been PMed, so please log in to check your PMs. Winners have 72 hours to reply.
Scheduled Game Maintenance, Blue Posts, Batdog WD Build, Witch Doctor Fan Film
Darkmoon Faire Cross-Realm Zone
It looks like the Darkmoon Faire now has the Cross-Realm Zone feature turned on, resulting in many more people there when you visit now! You can take part in some discussion about it here.
Blue Tweets
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Character / Items
Greg, what will happen to ch.mode gear when the new exp. hits? Would be a shame if all these cool sets became unobtainable.
They don't strictly need to be unobtainable. If the dungeons keep scaling you down, the challenge will still be there. (Source)
Though to be honest, we're not sure yet what our actual solution will be. (Source)
Will items be something like Bloodsoaked instead of Thunderforged in 5.4?
Yes. Assuming we do it. (Source)
On a side note, will we ever see Progression-Paths outside of Gear for Characters at Max-Level?
We would like to, but we have to come up with good systems. (Source)
could you elaborate on the valor vendor going away in 5.4. That could be punishing to those still a tier behind or more
But we do like having a place you can earn gear even if you don't want to raid. I just didn't want to announce that content yet. (Source)
I don't think GC meant that the older valor vendors are going away. Just that you won't have new ones. Right?
The older ones won't go away and we don't know if there will be new ones or not. It's just an idea at this stage. (Source)
PvP
What's the objection with returning AV back to where it was a few years ago where epic battles could have lasted hours?
The problem is some players don't want a very long BG. We've discussed making long BGs their own thing.... (Source)
Disabling auto follow in Battle Grounds has only hurt the multi boxer.
The problem is when multi boxers are having fun in PvP, everyone else often is not. (Source)
The biggest issue is that this change has utterly destroyed a play style that has been accepted for 8 year's!!
Nevertheless, do you think it was fun for the solo players on the receiving end? (Source)
Why isn't PvP gear upgradable? This is driving me away from pvp...I can't just jump into a raid in pvp gear and be hit capped
It takes a lot of Conquest gear just to purchase your gear. We didn't want you to also have to upgrade it. (Source)
Patch 5.3 PvP Changes
Blue post says new players get discouraged cuz of gear difference in pvp. But getting one shot in FULL boa by prot warr is OK
Low level Shield Slam was fixed in 5.3. To be fair, while low level still matters, far more players care about 90 PvP balance. (Source)
PVP power gems are useless in PVP atm compared to a STR gem please explain why or is it blizzards hate towards PVP showing
Strength is still a PvP stat. Why does that offend you? I can understand why PvE gear would. (Source)
What's the point of the nerf to PvP stats?
Getting e.g. a Conq weapon made a huge swing in damage. We want gear progression but not huge swings. (Source)
thx to ur stupid decision cancelling pvp resilience. i am afk . byebye wow.
You understand, I hope, that we're trying to improve the experience when players in vastly different gear try to PvP. (Source)
Why even have gear in pvp? Seems counterintuitive, pvp is about action, not long-term planning gear.
Getting rewards is fun. Without power based progression goals we don't think many players would stick with it for long. (Source)
Some might, just as some raiders raid just to see the fights, not to earn gear. (Source)
in 5.3 pve ganked tanks are FAR better than pvp geared tanks for RBG.. they dont need pvp power, defensive stats better. why?
We don't want anyone, not even tanks, to be super hard to kill as FCs. It's not fun for anyone. (Source)
why do you always treat PVP players as 2nd class in wow, bg's are broken,bots run rampant,and pvp nerfs in 5.3, please fix pvp
Look at the list of 5.3 changes. Ask yourself how many were PvE vs PvP fixes. (Source)
http://t.co/KveNIAuLKx Read that please and write back your thoughts on it please
Feel like we have addressed this a bunch. PvPers told us they wanted PvP to be more about skill and less about gear. (Source)
PvE'ers told us they would participate more in PvP if they didn't die immediately until they had better gear. (Source)
Letting someone use PvE gear as *starter* gear in PvP (and vice versa) allows more crossover and gives you more opponents. (Source)
Funny how you guys didn't care about ppl getting smashed in PvP until just recently. Why is that?
Mostly, player feedback. We were worried it was driving folks out of PvP. (Source)
what is the point of pvp gear now? Lack of blizz responses is discouraging. Pvp gear =no point. The community wants a response
The community (or at least part of it) asked vociferously for PvP gear to matter less in PvP to allow for catch-up. (Source)
yeah pvp gear is a joke. No point in even buying it. Just afk in LFR and u can beat someone in full pvp
By "full pvp" do you mean Honor or Conquest? Conquest, no way. (Source)
Sure, but what about honor gear? 20 item level deficit vs. LFR gear is a lot for PvP power to overcome post-nerf.
If you'd rather LFR to get gear instead of Honor gear, that seems fine. You'll want to graduate to Conquest either way. (Source)
Honor gear is pretty much catch up gear. If you PvP seriously, you'll earn some Conquest. (Source)
Intuitively, Random Battlegrounds giving worse PvP rewards than doing LFR doesn't seem "fine" to me, but I see your pt
You can run BGs as much as you want but raids once a week (or so). (Source)
But at the same time, when a new season comes serious PVP'ers "must" LFR to stay ahead (aka not get behind)
You can earn all your Honor gear in a week or two depending on how much you play. LFR is nowhere near that generous. (Source)
My level 85 alts only have 40% baseline resilience still, not 65%. Intended?
Yes, the 65% was for level 90. Lower characters will have less. Partially that's because there is still resilience gear at 85. (Source)
Computers - Setup of the Month (by chaud)
Each month or every 2 months, depending on the hardware evolutions, the lovely chaud will work on a couple of hardware setups for those of you who are thinking of upgrading their computer!
This month
The current SSD prices are stable, with almost all SSDs under $1 per gigabyte when on sale. No new GPUs worth waiting for are expected before the third quarter this year. RAM prices have been increasing for the past few months, so if you were thinking about adding RAM anytime soon, now is the time.
The new Haswell CPUs from Intel are here and they offer a ~10% performance increase over the previous generation of CPUs in most applications. They run a little bit on the warmer side, so depending on how much you want to overclock, you may need to spend a bit more for a better CPU cooler like the NH-D14 or H90.
Unless you are doing a lot of video rendering or something that is similarly multithreaded, you do not need the 4770K and should spend that money elsewhere.
Make sure to keep your AMD and Nvidia drivers up to date.
Don't hesitate to post any feedback in the comments of that news post, and don't forget to visit the Computer Forum for any extra questions! If you are interested in Folding@home, take a look in our team's thread.
Blizzard News and Armored Bloodwing Giveaway
If you missed our mount giveaway, Curse is giving one more away! The instructions for entering are near the end of the video below. If you want to enter, please post on the video comments and not on MMO-Champion.
More...
Darkmoon Faire Cross-Realm Zone
It looks like the Darkmoon Faire now has the Cross-Realm Zone feature turned on, resulting in many more people there when you visit now! You can take part in some discussion about it here.
Blue Tweets
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Character / Items
Greg, what will happen to ch.mode gear when the new exp. hits? Would be a shame if all these cool sets became unobtainable.
They don't strictly need to be unobtainable. If the dungeons keep scaling you down, the challenge will still be there. (Source)
Though to be honest, we're not sure yet what our actual solution will be. (Source)
Will items be something like Bloodsoaked instead of Thunderforged in 5.4?
Yes. Assuming we do it. (Source)
On a side note, will we ever see Progression-Paths outside of Gear for Characters at Max-Level?
We would like to, but we have to come up with good systems. (Source)
could you elaborate on the valor vendor going away in 5.4. That could be punishing to those still a tier behind or more
But we do like having a place you can earn gear even if you don't want to raid. I just didn't want to announce that content yet. (Source)
I don't think GC meant that the older valor vendors are going away. Just that you won't have new ones. Right?
The older ones won't go away and we don't know if there will be new ones or not. It's just an idea at this stage. (Source)
PvP
What's the objection with returning AV back to where it was a few years ago where epic battles could have lasted hours?
The problem is some players don't want a very long BG. We've discussed making long BGs their own thing.... (Source)
Disabling auto follow in Battle Grounds has only hurt the multi boxer.
The problem is when multi boxers are having fun in PvP, everyone else often is not. (Source)
The biggest issue is that this change has utterly destroyed a play style that has been accepted for 8 year's!!
Nevertheless, do you think it was fun for the solo players on the receiving end? (Source)
Why isn't PvP gear upgradable? This is driving me away from pvp...I can't just jump into a raid in pvp gear and be hit capped
It takes a lot of Conquest gear just to purchase your gear. We didn't want you to also have to upgrade it. (Source)
Patch 5.3 PvP Changes
Blue post says new players get discouraged cuz of gear difference in pvp. But getting one shot in FULL boa by prot warr is OK
Low level Shield Slam was fixed in 5.3. To be fair, while low level still matters, far more players care about 90 PvP balance. (Source)
PVP power gems are useless in PVP atm compared to a STR gem please explain why or is it blizzards hate towards PVP showing
Strength is still a PvP stat. Why does that offend you? I can understand why PvE gear would. (Source)
What's the point of the nerf to PvP stats?
Getting e.g. a Conq weapon made a huge swing in damage. We want gear progression but not huge swings. (Source)
thx to ur stupid decision cancelling pvp resilience. i am afk . byebye wow.
You understand, I hope, that we're trying to improve the experience when players in vastly different gear try to PvP. (Source)
Why even have gear in pvp? Seems counterintuitive, pvp is about action, not long-term planning gear.
Getting rewards is fun. Without power based progression goals we don't think many players would stick with it for long. (Source)
Some might, just as some raiders raid just to see the fights, not to earn gear. (Source)
in 5.3 pve ganked tanks are FAR better than pvp geared tanks for RBG.. they dont need pvp power, defensive stats better. why?
We don't want anyone, not even tanks, to be super hard to kill as FCs. It's not fun for anyone. (Source)
why do you always treat PVP players as 2nd class in wow, bg's are broken,bots run rampant,and pvp nerfs in 5.3, please fix pvp
Look at the list of 5.3 changes. Ask yourself how many were PvE vs PvP fixes. (Source)
http://t.co/KveNIAuLKx Read that please and write back your thoughts on it please
Feel like we have addressed this a bunch. PvPers told us they wanted PvP to be more about skill and less about gear. (Source)
PvE'ers told us they would participate more in PvP if they didn't die immediately until they had better gear. (Source)
Letting someone use PvE gear as *starter* gear in PvP (and vice versa) allows more crossover and gives you more opponents. (Source)
Funny how you guys didn't care about ppl getting smashed in PvP until just recently. Why is that?
Mostly, player feedback. We were worried it was driving folks out of PvP. (Source)
what is the point of pvp gear now? Lack of blizz responses is discouraging. Pvp gear =no point. The community wants a response
The community (or at least part of it) asked vociferously for PvP gear to matter less in PvP to allow for catch-up. (Source)
yeah pvp gear is a joke. No point in even buying it. Just afk in LFR and u can beat someone in full pvp
By "full pvp" do you mean Honor or Conquest? Conquest, no way. (Source)
Sure, but what about honor gear? 20 item level deficit vs. LFR gear is a lot for PvP power to overcome post-nerf.
If you'd rather LFR to get gear instead of Honor gear, that seems fine. You'll want to graduate to Conquest either way. (Source)
Honor gear is pretty much catch up gear. If you PvP seriously, you'll earn some Conquest. (Source)
Intuitively, Random Battlegrounds giving worse PvP rewards than doing LFR doesn't seem "fine" to me, but I see your pt
You can run BGs as much as you want but raids once a week (or so). (Source)
But at the same time, when a new season comes serious PVP'ers "must" LFR to stay ahead (aka not get behind)
You can earn all your Honor gear in a week or two depending on how much you play. LFR is nowhere near that generous. (Source)
My level 85 alts only have 40% baseline resilience still, not 65%. Intended?
Yes, the 65% was for level 90. Lower characters will have less. Partially that's because there is still resilience gear at 85. (Source)
Computers - Setup of the Month (by chaud)
Each month or every 2 months, depending on the hardware evolutions, the lovely chaud will work on a couple of hardware setups for those of you who are thinking of upgrading their computer!
This month
The current SSD prices are stable, with almost all SSDs under $1 per gigabyte when on sale. No new GPUs worth waiting for are expected before the third quarter this year. RAM prices have been increasing for the past few months, so if you were thinking about adding RAM anytime soon, now is the time.
The new Haswell CPUs from Intel are here and they offer a ~10% performance increase over the previous generation of CPUs in most applications. They run a little bit on the warmer side, so depending on how much you want to overclock, you may need to spend a bit more for a better CPU cooler like the NH-D14 or H90.
Unless you are doing a lot of video rendering or something that is similarly multithreaded, you do not need the 4770K and should spend that money elsewhere.
Make sure to keep your AMD and Nvidia drivers up to date.
Don't hesitate to post any feedback in the comments of that news post, and don't forget to visit the Computer Forum for any extra questions! If you are interested in Folding@home, take a look in our team's thread.
Peripherals/Monitors
| Component | Puppy | Dolphin |
|---|---|---|
| Monitor | Asus VS229H-P 21.5" LED IPS Monitor - $140 | ASUS VS248H-P 24-Inch Monitor - $170 |
| Keyboard | Kensington Pro Fit Media Keyboard - $18 | Cyborg V.5 - $45 |
| Mouse | Logitech G400 - $50 | Razer Deathadder - $45 |
| Speakers | Creative A220 2.1 Speaker System - $30 | Logitech Z313 Speaker System - $39 |
| Component | Narwhal | Unicorn |
| Monitor | ASUS VE278Q 27-Inch - $266 | HP ZR2440W 24-inch (IPS Panel) - $381 |
| Keyboard | Logitech G510 - $89 | Razer BlackWidow (Backlit)- $76 ($120) |
| Mouse | Logitech G500 - $48 | Razer Naga (Buttons on the Side) - $60 |
| Speakers | Logitech Z323 2.1 Speaker System - $54 | Logitech Speaker System Z523 - $75 |
Puppy and Dolphin
Mix and match anything but the CPU/Motherboard combo between Puppy and Dolphin. Pick one of the two CPU/Motherboard combos.
Mix and match anything but the CPU/Motherboard combo between Puppy and Dolphin. Pick one of the two CPU/Motherboard combos.
| Component | Puppy | Dolphin |
|---|---|---|
| Case | NZXT Source 210 - $39 | NZXT Source 210 - $39 |
| Power Supply | Corsair CX500 - $50 | XFX Core Edition PRO 550W - $61 |
| CPU | AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition- $85 | AMD FX-6300 - $129 |
| Heatsink | Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus - $25 | Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - $33 |
| Motherboard | GIGABYTE GA-970A-UD3 AM3+ 970 - $99 | GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AM3+ 990FX - $123 |
| Memory | Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB 1333 - $32 | 8GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 - $66 |
| Graphics Card | ASUS 7770 - $99 | ASUS 7850 2 GB or ASUS GTX 660 2GB - $180 / $190 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB - $57 | Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB - $91 |
| DVD | Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $22 | Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $22 |
| Total | $508 | $744 - 754 |
Narwhal and Unicorn
All of these parts can be mixed and matched to create a build between Narwhal and Unicorn. SSDs are always optional.
All of these parts can be mixed and matched to create a build between Narwhal and Unicorn. SSDs are always optional.
| Component | Narwhal | Unicorn |
|---|---|---|
| Case | Cooler Master HAF 912 - $55 | Cooler Master HAF 932 - $140 |
| Power Supply | Corsair 650TX V2 - $87 | Corsair 750HX - $119 |
| CPU | Intel i5-4670K - $250 | Intel i7-4770K - $350 |
| Heatsink | Thermaltake Frio - $57 | Noctua 6 NH-D14 - $77 |
| Motherboard | ASUS Z87-A - $150 | ASUS Z87-PLUS - $176 |
| Memory | 8GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 - $71 | 16GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 - $120 |
| Graphics Card | Gigabyte 7950 OR ASUS GTX 660 Ti - $320 / $280 | Gigabyte 7970 OR ASUS GTX 670 - $400 / $350 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black - $91 | Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black - $91 |
| SSD | SAMSUNG 840 128GB (Review) - $95 OR Plextor 128 GB M5 Pro (Review) - $129 | Intel 335 180GB (Review) - $178 OR SAMSUNG 840 Pro 128GB (Review) - $133 |
| DVD | Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $22 | Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $22 |
| Total | $1063 - $1232 | $1540 - $1673 |
Blizzard News and Armored Bloodwing Giveaway
If you missed our mount giveaway, Curse is giving one more away! The instructions for entering are near the end of the video below. If you want to enter, please post on the video comments and not on MMO-Champion.
More...