Greenstone Village Scenario
The Greenstone Village scenario recently opened in beta! All scenarios now reward a Cache of Powerful Armor, which has a chance at a dungeon quality blue (for your class) along with gold.
Galleon World Boss
Galleon was enabled for testing a few weeks ago and didn't pose much of a challenge to a small group of Level 90 PvP geared players.
Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Beta Class Balance Analysis
Since everyone is thinking it, I'll ask...
Ghostcrawler: I still love you guys, but I have to travel a bit for business. Rest assured, you're in very capable hands. We spend extraordinary efforts to make sure the development team is all on the same page, so you shouldn't notice any differences.
Is there an ICD for Strikes of Opportunity? I don't believe players ever confirmed or defined one (if they did, I'm open to the answer/verbal abuse).
There's only a 0.1sec ICD.
Is this about the general size of "tiny ICDs" used to prevent things from chain-proc'ing off of the same attack/ability? (for example, is there also a 0.1 sec ICD on static shock and echo of the elements? perhaps even flametongue weapon?)
We don’t frequently use tiny ICDs like that, but it solves problems in a few cases. Static Shock and Flametongue have no ICD at all. We mentioned Echo of the Elements having a short ICD before, and yes, it is also 0.1sec.
Is it intended that, while stealthed, if the priest takes ANY damage (including any dots on the priest when spectral guised is used), knocks the priest back out of stealth and ends the ability? It makes the spell basically a momentary target drop, since most class specs now have access to dots.
Yes. Unless otherwise specified, stealth breaks on taking damage or perfoming any offensive action. While this does make it less powerful than if it didn't break on damage, we still expect it to be valuable in PvP. Additionally, dispels before you use Spectral Guise can remove many of the DoTs that would otherwise break it. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Amount of Gold Dropped in Old Raids
In general, enemies in raids and dungeons drop significantly more gold than outdoor foes, specifically because we are assuming that the gold is going to be split 5, 10, or 25 ways. As player power rises over time, it obviously becomes possible to complete old content with significantly fewer players, such that the gold rewards become disproportionately high.
In the past, our only solution was to drastically reduce the gold dropped by legacy content across the board (e.g., Magtheridon, much of Karazhan, etc.). In Mists, we have a new system in place that normalizes gold yield based on the number of players involved in the kill. If a Black Temple enemy drops 100 gold today on live, and you kill it with a 25-player raid group in Mists, it'll also drop 100 gold and each player will get 4 gold. If you solo Black Temple, that enemy will also give you 4 gold. If you do it with 4 friends, it'll drop 20 gold and each of you will get 4.
In other words, the gold obtained from killing raid or dungeon creatures no longer depends upon how many people you bring, or do not bring, with you. This system does not apply to anything in the outdoor world.
If this is the case, will the original gold values of the bosses in Gruul's Lair, Magtheridon's Lair and Karazhan be restored so groups will once again get more gold from the boss than from a single trash mob?
Yes. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Theramore, Jaina, and War
If the Alliance are getting into the war thanks 2 Theramore, what were they smoking when Garrosh did EVERYTHING ELSE?
Theramore is a galvanizing event, not the first battle.
This may be the first book I actually pass over.
Remember that few people understand Jaina or the burdens she bears. The love story isn't conventional/expected. (Twitter)
An Alternative End Game - a Focus on the Journey
Just for the sake of curiosity, since there are mentions about focusing on the journey and never getting to the destination...
What's the point of a journey that doesn't lead to a destination? I mean, the reason why you start it is (or it'd be expected to be) to get, eventually, to a destination. But a journey is not a journey unless you're going somewhere. And if that somewhere remains costantly in a distant, unachievable vacuum, then what purpose does that journey serve? (I'd argue you could call it a journey, even, if you're never getting where you want to). (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
We Need a New Insane Achievement
Nice read indeed! It could be interesting to know what you guys think think should be the requirements for a new insane achievement then? (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Purpose of Beta Testing
I do agree that betas have changed over the past 6 years tho.
They have indeed. Beta tests tend to have multiple functions and purposes these days, but the primary purpose of beta tests remain the same as always though, which is to test the new game/content. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Annual Pass, Diablo III C.E. Upgrade - Update
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
This is an update for all Annual Pass holders who upgraded to a Collector's Edition of Diablo III. As noted in the Annual Pass FAQ, players who have subscribed to an Annual Pass and did the upgrade also receive 4 free months of World of Warcraft subscription time. This time is not automatically applied to your World of Warcraft subscription and needs to be applied manually. If you're an Annual Pass holder and purchased a Diablo III Collector's Edition upgrade, you merely need to log into your Battle.net account and at the top you should see a blue notification banner that says:
Claim Free Game Time
Because you have a World of Warcraft Annual Pass, and have upgraded Diablo III to a Collector's Edition, you are eligible for 4 months of free game time. Claim your free game time on this account.
Just click the link provided and you should be all set.
We have received a few reports from players who received an error message after clicking the link. Please know we are aware of this issue and are working to get it resolved as quickly as possible for those affected.
Guild Mentoring Program: There’s Still Time to Apply
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
We’re waiting for you! We understand that sometimes messengers don’t arrive at their destinations in one piece (if at all). These are dark days in Azeroth and the Cataclysm has put a bit of a kink in the machine (whether goblin or gnome.) To make up in any failure on the part of our chosen messengers, we’re putting out this reminder to all eligible guilds. We’re still looking for the heroes of Azeroth to step forth and teach the next generation of heroes a thing or two about how to succeed against the countless foes that seemingly spring from the very soil beneath their feet.
If you think your guild has what it takes, make sure you apply before time runs out. We’re accepting applications until Friday, August 3. Read more about the Guild Mentoring Program here.
Trading Card Game Art Gallery Update
Blizzard has updated the Trading Card Game art gallery to feature ten new pieces.
More...