Patch 6.2 - Hellfire High Council Preview
Today we are looking at the the Hellfire High Council encounter in Hellfire Citadel.
690Neck
Spiked Bloodstone Pendant675Neck
Gorget of Induced Madness690Trinket
Desecrated Shadowmoon Insignia690FingerHealer
Shimmering Voidstone Band675FingerHealer
Hazy Voidstone Band690TrinketAll Agility
Mirror of the Blademaster675TrinketAll Agility
Smoldering Felblade Remnant675FingerAll Intellect
Shadowmoon Ancestry Ring690BackAll Strength
Rugged Bloodcaked DrapeModelviewer
690BackAll Agility
Windswept Wanderer's DrapeModelviewer
675ClothAll Intellect
Sash of Guttural IntonationModelviewer
690ClothAll Intellect
Dia's Nightmarish LeggingsModelviewer
675ClothAll Intellect
Void-Pact LeggingsModelviewer
690ClothAll Intellect
Cursed Blood BracersModelviewer
690Leather
Gurtogg's Discarded HoodModelviewer
690Leather
Blood-Tanned PauldronsModelviewer
675Leather
Fel-Crazed PauldronsModelviewer
690Mail
Kilt of Self-ReflectionModelviewer
675Mail
Bladewalk BootsModelviewer
690Mail
Bloody Berserker's BracersModelviewer
675Mail
Gauntlets of Reckless AssaultModelviewer
675Plate
Wailing Woe PauldronsModelviewer
690Plate
Girdle of Savage ResolveModelviewer
675Plate
Blade-Chipped WaistguardModelviewer
690Plate
Acid-Etched LegplatesModelviewer
675Two-handed AxeAll Strength
Rivetspike CleaverModelviewer
690One-handed SwordAll Strength
Blazing Demonhilt SwordModelviewer
675One-handed SwordAll Strength
Viscera-Stained LongswordModelviewer
690One-handed SwordAll Intellect
Mindbender's FlamebladeModelviewer
675One-handed SwordAll Intellect
Hellfire MindbladeModelviewer
690Two-handed SwordAll Strength
Fel-Burning BladeModelviewer
675StaffAll Agility
Spring-Loaded JawstaffModelviewer
Originally Posted by MMO-Champion
Thousands of Iron Horde orcs accepted the blood of Mannoroth, but few grew as powerful as these three champions. Dia Darkwhisper, master of Void magic and an outcast of the Shadowmoon, rose quickly to power as the left hand of Gul'dan. Gurtogg, with his insatiable hunger for blood, emerged the victor in hundreds of trials by combat. He has met his match only once, fighting Blademaster Jubei'thos to a draw. Tainted with fel sickness, they serve Gul'dan as both Highguard and Council of War.
- Overview - Each member of the council has a special attack that they will only use below 30% health. These effects will persist until the end of the encounter.
- Tanks -
- When Dia Darkwhisper uses Nightmare Visage, use defensive abilities to reduce the damage you take.
- Keep Dia Darkwhisper away from her allies, else they will gain the effects of Void Haze.
- Move away from the impact point of Gurtogg Bloodboil's Demolishing Leap to minimize damage taken.
- Healers -
- Dispel Dia Darkwhisper's Mark of the Necromancer before its damage becomes lethal, but do not dispel prematurely as doing so causes the effect transfers to 2 additional targets when dispelled.
- Use defensive abilities to maximize your chance of survival if Gurtogg Bloodboil targets you with his Fel Rage.
- Move away from the impact point of Gurtogg Bloodboil's Demolishing Leap to minimize damage taken.
- Damage Dealers -
- If you are afflicted with Mark of the Necromancer when Dia Darkwhisper casts Reap, the ground beneath your position will burn for the remainder of the encounter, so position yourself carefully.
- Use defensive abilities to maximize your chance of survival if Gurtogg Bloodboil targets you with his Fel Rage.
- Move away from the impact point of Gurtogg Bloodboil's Demolishing Leap to minimize damage taken.
- Blademaster Jubei'thos
- Fel Blade - Jubei'thos hurls his flaming blade, inflicting 71,400 damage to enemies with which it comes into contact.
- Felstorm - Jubei'thos whirls a fiery tempest at enemies, inflicting 9,022 Fire damage to all enemies every second for 8 sec.
- Windwalk - Jubei'thos disappears into the wind, summoning Mirror Images. He will re-emerge after 45 seconds or when all images have been defeated, whichever occurs first.
- Mirror Images - Jubei'thos summons decoys of himself. He will re-emerge when all of his images have been destroyed, or after enough time has passed.
- His Final Hour - Upon reaching 30% health remaining, Jubei'thos will begin to cast Wicked Strike. After his death the images of Jubei'thos will continue to haunt players, striking them from the shadows.
- Wicked Strike - An image of Jubei'thos appears behind half of all living players, striking them for 54,328 Fire damage. This effect increases in damage over time. When Jubei'thos is defeated, he continues to haunt players from the grave, Wicked Striking them until the encounter is defeated.
- Dia Darkwhisper
- Void Bolt - Dia focuses void energy at her primary target, inflicting 107,000 Shadow damage.
- Void Haze - Dia's dark presence shrouds allies in a dark haze, absorbing all damage taken for as long as they stand within 25 yards of her.
- Nightmare Visage - Dia transforms into a visage of nightmares, unleashing a flurry of attacks on her primary target.
-
Mark of the Necromancer - Dia marks random enemies with the sigil of the necromancer, inflicting increasing Shadow damage over time. When dispelled, this effect bounces to 3 nearby allies of the afflicted player.
- Reap - Dia reaps all marked targets, causing her mark to burn into the ground. This mark inflicts 42,850 Shadow damage to all enemies within the effect every second.
- Burden of the Necromancer - When Mark of the Necromancer is dispeled, it will detonate for 30,000 Shadow damage to all enemies.
- Wailing Horror - Dia shrouds the room in darkness, inflicting 105,000 Shadow damage to all enemies every second. Darkness amasses, causing Wailing Horrors to form in random locations and sail across the room. These horrors will inflict 105,000 Shadow damage to enemies with which they come into contact.
- Her Final Hour - Upon reaching 30% health remaining, Dia Darkwhisper is overcome by darkness, applying Mark of the Necromancer to half of all remaining foes. In her madness, she will no longer use Reap.
- Gurtogg Bloodboil
- Bloodboil - Gurtogg causes the 5 furthest enemies' blood to boil, inflicting 51,946 Physical damage. In Mythic difficulty, this effect boils the target's blood for 51,946 Physical damage every second. This effect stacks.
- Bloodboil - Gurtogg causes the 5 furthest enemies' blood to boil, inflicting 51,946 Physical damage. In Mythic difficulty, this effect boils the target's blood for 51,946 Physical damage every second. This effect stacks.
- Acidic Wound - Gurtogg's fel sickness infects the wounds of his current target, inflicting Nature damage every 2 sec. and reducing armor by 100. Stacks up to 60 times, lasts 30 sec.
- Fel Rage - Gurtogg goes into a fel rage, focusing on a random enemy. A sickening fel energy courses through their veins, causing them to gain extra defenses. Successful melee attacks will cause Gurtogg to increase his attack speed by 10% in all difficulties except Looking For Raid.
- Demolishing Leap - Gurtogg crashes around the room, inflicting up to 250,000 Physical damage to players based on proximity to his impact.
- His Final Hour - Upon reaching 30% health remaining, Gurtogg begins to cast Tainted Blood until he is defeated.
- Tainted Blood - Gurtogg taints the blood of his enemies, limiting their maximum health value by 5% per application. This effect stacks, and persists until the encounter is over.
Patch 6.2 - Ashran Updates
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker
/ Official Forums
)
In Patch 6.2, Warlords of Draenor’s PvP zone Ashran is getting some new quests and an eerie new area to explore. Here’s a rundown of what you’ll encounter on the glorious battlefield between Warspear and Stormshield.
New Quests for Dominance
Faction bosses and events will no longer reward Conquest points after Patch 6.2, but will continue to reward Honor points and strongboxes. To fill your pockets with lots of Conquest points going forward, you’ll want to pick up and complete these new quests:
- Slay Them All! – A weekly quest to rack up 200 honor kills for a reward of 200 Conquest points.
- Ashran Dominance – Rewards 500 Conquest points when you kill the enemy faction boss and win five events—also weekly.
- Continue the Domination – A repeatable quest that unlocks after Ashran Dominance is completed. Rewards 500 Conquest points when you kill the enemy faction boss and win five events.
Meanwhile, Belloc Brightblade and Harrison Jones have followed the siren-like call of a new artifact being unearthed in Ashran. They each offer a quest leading you to fight your way into a new section of the zone...
An Eerie New Area
The Ashran Excavation has been revealed, and its unearthly inhabitants are none too pleased about the presence of you and other visitors.
Once you enter the Ashran Excavation, you’ll find yourself inside a very large underground area. Similar to other parts of Ashran, a competitive event is randomly triggered in the area. When the event begins, your goal is to collect Apexis Marks of Redemption by taking down the Arakkoa ghosts that haunt the depths.
Somewhere in this underground labyrinth, you’ll find a ghost named Rukmaz—one of the few entities here who doesn’t want to kill you on sight. He’s a collector of Marks of Redemption, and he’s waiting to award victory over the Ashran Excavation to whichever faction turns in 50 Marks first.
Patch 6.2 - Shadow Priests
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker
/ Official Forums
)
Thanks for the candid and constructive post. We read tons of feedback, and these kinds of posts, where the community is working together to provide constructive points, are exactly the kinds we like to read and discuss internally. So much so that we thought it was worth offering a reply based on some of the thoughts and discussions we’ve had since reading it.
First, let’s talk about talents. In general, most of these concerns are ones which we can work to improve through number tweaks. As a caveat, I’d remind that it’s not fair to look at talents purely from a raiding and min/maxing point of view (for example, Surge of Darkness is about as dominant in PvP as Insanity is in Raiding). But, that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try to improve things in the raiding context.
- Level 45 talents are a more skewed than we’d like, but all of the talents do see some play. Surge of Darkness vs Insanity is largely a question of whether you want more mobility. Highly skilled players in top raid guilds tend to min/max their movement better, and so typically find the raw DPS of Insanity more valuable. We’re hoping that Mindbender sees a bit more play, in part due to the Legendary Ring, and in cases where cooldowns are valuable. Overall, a row that could certainly be more balanced, which we plan to place greater emphasis on in the future.
- Level 60 talents are similar; Twist of Fate is dominant amongst top raiders, but isn’t completely exclusive. Power Infusion and Shadowy Insight both do see some play. Power Infusion may go up a bit for the same reasons as Mindbender. Additionally, Twist of Fate requires some gaming of its proc to get the maximum theoretical value out of, leading to the row being more balanced in general for the average player. That said, Twist of Fate is likely the ideal one to be dominant, since it’s a good talent for both experienced and inexperienced players.
- Clarity of Power has ended up being somewhat ironically named, because it’s actually rather unclear how it’s supposed to work. In fact, when we designed it, the DoT-weaving style that has emerged was never intended. It’s a good example of how players can use tools we give you in unexpected ways, and eek more performance than we expect out of something. Late in beta, it became clear that it wasn’t just a crazy idea, and was actually a significant performance boost to do. We opted to just let it go at that time, and see what happened with it. Unfortunately, it ended up overly dominant, without a clear/elegant solution to change it. In 6.1, we opted to just buff the other two talents on the row up to be competitive with the unintentionally overpowered Clarity of Power. That leaves CoP in the unfortunate situation of being the best, if you know the unintuitive trick to it, which is a poor situation for players who are new or not ‘in-the-know’. Void Entropy is also probably a little undertuned still; it’s just quite niche right now.
Next, the Shadow class trinket. It is, indeed, very punishing to use if there is a target swap. The intention is that it’s a tradeoff to use, but that in a good situation, it’s very strong, and I think the numbers reflect that (perhaps too much, based on PTR testing, but we’re still evaluating that). In general, the class trinkets are more situational effects. Being on trinkets, they’re more optional and swappable, than something like a set bonus is (which has few alternatives). There are exceptions on both sides of that, of course, but it’s a general case. Finally, there is one improvement coming that will help; it’ll reach max stacks twice as fast in the next PTR build.
Many other classes have the option to swap specs for any given fight, to switch to a spec more suited to that fight. Having only a single spec, Priests have no such option. Instead, we tried to position Mastery as an option that they could tailor their gear toward or away from based on the fight. I think it’s fair to say that that hasn’t worked out as well as we’d hoped, but hasn’t been a failure. I think one of the extenuating circumstances here is that raid fights this expansion have had more multi-target focus than single-target, leading Mastery to be quite niche indeed.
In terms of AoE, Shadow is intended to fill the role of a multi-DoTter. Different classes are different, and we don’t want to make them more homogenous by giving them strong burst AoE options like certain specs of Mages or Warlocks. That said, Shadow should excel at the situations they’re suited to, more. If the fight calls for sustained damage on 3 spread out targets, that’s a case that Shadow should be favored on, and I’m not sure if they do enough right now, to make up for the more common case of clumped/burst/many-target AoE. It’s something we’re looking at improving in the future.
Each raid tier, every spec gets new set bonuses. Sometimes their effects are more passive, sometimes more active. We try to make things exciting and feel rewarding. With any case like this, where there are so many bonuses, and they have to try to fulfill so many goals simultaneously, there’s bound to be some varying degree of success at that. And that’s generally OK; it adds texture to the game when how much you interact with your set bonuses varies between tiers. Your criticisms are totally valid, and we’ll take the feedback into account when designing future set bonuses, for sure.
Finally, I’d like to talk a bit more about Shadow in general; the big picture, not so much about these specific concerns. We’ve been retrospective lately about where Shadow has come, and how much it truly fulfills its intended fantasy, gameplay style, role, etc. Shadow Priests should be the masters of the shadows cast by the light from the Holy Priests. In terms of lore and fantasy, they should focus on the powers of the Void. However, they’re still Priests; they know that what they’re dabbling with is dangerous, and have to try to go as far as they can without going *too* far. Pain, Insanity, Darkness… These are the tools they use on their enemies, and even a bit on themselves. For the future, we’re looking at ways that we can adjust their gameplay to feel more viscerally “Shadow Priest”. We think some things have worked well (like their DoTs), and other things have worked not so well (like Shadow Orbs). It’s too early to announce anything specific at this point, but we can tell you that there are very significant changes coming to Shadow in a future patch, that we hope will better capture the fantasy, while providing unique gameplay. We're reading all of your feedback, and taking it into account when making these changes.
Again, thanks for the constructive feedback, and we look forward to more in the future.
Live Q&A Saturday, June 6 w/ Ion Hazzikostas!
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker
/ Official Forums
)
This Saturday, I’ll be joining World of Warcraft Lead Game Designer Ion Hazzikostas to answer your questions live on Twitch.TV! With Patch 6.2 rapidly approaching, we wanted to take the opportunity to not only answer any questions the community has regarding the new content and features in the patch, but also take a look back at the challenges we’ve faced (and the lessons we’ve learned) when developing the Warlords of Draenor expansion and Patch 6.1.
When: Saturday, June 6, 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM Pacific time (see this handy tool to find when that is in your local time!)
Where: The World of Warcraft channel on Twitch.TV/WoW
There are two ways to submit questions. If you’re using Twitter, simply tweet your question using the hashtag #WarlordsQA. You can also ask it as a reply to this forum thread; however, as we’d like to get to as many questions as possible, we will only consider questions using 40 words or less. Make them count! In order to be considered, your question must be submitted before 12:01 AM Pacific time on Saturday, June 6.
See you there!
Blue Tweets
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
This is true. But *after* a set is changed to be used by players, making all the pieces fit isn't as unrealistic.
Sometimes when a design change is made it isn't feasible to get artists/animators back on it. They've moved on. (CM_Zarhym)
Your tweet to which I replied oozed condescension, and it wasn't the first time
I apologize. Was at home in bed at 3 am & shouldn't have responded then. (CM_Zarhym)
Wasn't smart. Not really supposed to respond off the clock. Was frazzled. (CM_Zarhym)
See, players aren't the only ones losing sleep over this.
But equating the Selfie cam to Farahlon for dev time = apples to galaxies. (CM_Zarhym)
My point wasnt the selfie cam vs farahlon. It was that you guys have a trend of miss allocating resources.
My point: players don't know production workflow/pipelines enough to claim definitively how resources are misallocated (CM_Zarhym)
And in NO CONTEXT did we release the selfie cam or Twitter integration claiming a solid substitute for world content. (CM_Zarhym)
It just blows my ( and many others ) minds, that you double the dev team, and yet theres such a huge content drought.
Many players feel this way and I'm sure Ion will address it better than I can in the Q&A this Saturday. (CM_Zarhym)
My intention wasn't to "gripe". But to point out from a players perspective it appears that content gets cut, and nothing is put in its place. So while we sit in our garrisons until raid time, there is very little to do. Thanks for the mature response
And that's a fair criticism. Like I said, I'm sure Ion will speak to that on Saturday. (CM_Zarhym)
Ghostcrawler Tweets
While the developers have been pretty quiet since @WarcraftDevs appeared, Ghostcrawler still occasionally talks about WoW. Remember that he no longer works for or speaks for Blizzard.
Originally Posted by MMO-Champion
Game Design
Big reason why WoW is failing is because it's too easy to reach the endgame content. Theres no journey that you go on anymore
If you want a tiny, hardcore game, then that's a fine approach. (OccupyGStreet)
Help me out. Hardcode = time. If you say hardcore = challenging. I say challenging = time. Everything in mmo time vs reward
So saying hardcore is a bit disingenuous. Doesnt matter how accessible the content is if the player doesnt have the time.
I agree "hardcore" is overbound as a word because we all use it for both investments in time and skill. (OccupyGStreet)
You definitely have to be (humble) about feedback--it's your "data" that you can't argue around. But OTOH, you also often tell them that you know better than they do what they'll have fun with.
If professional game designers can't be experts in fun, then we might as well crowdsource all games. (OccupyGStreet)
(wow) what do you think about adding polls in options to get more players' feelings on class+game? less vocal minority
You would need to do it globally and be convinced that the polls couldn't easily be abused or fixed. (OccupyGStreet)
But now WoW offers nothing in the open world adventure..we are all just forced to do the same thing at endgame.
What else are you looking for in an endgame? More dungeons? Daily quests? Rare spawns? Something new? (OccupyGStreet)
instanced gameplay-wise; when almost all were pushed into "elite content", gathering epic gear and points for it
You can also argue maybe players had just had enough of the open world adventuring after two expansions. (OccupyGStreet)
Dark Legacy Comics #491
DLC #491 has been released.
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