Patch 4.3.2 Going Live This Week
The information isn't official but assuming everything goes as planned, Patch 4.3.2 should be going live this week. It's not like it can go wrong 2 weeks in a row, right?
This patch is bringing us Cross Realm raids for older content with RealID friends, a few item tweaks and new items, a few new achievements, and a reduced game client install size. It's also bringing the 64 bit client to the game, even if it won't be directly included in the game client it will be available as a separate download after the release of the patch.
And yes, there's technically a 0.5% chance that something can go wrong. Just like last week the patch is scheduled for deployment internally, the patch files are already available on Blizzard's patch servers, and everything points to a release this week. It doesn't mean that things can't go wrong like last week, and this is exactly why Blizzard doesn't announce patches early and this is exactly why I looked like a big-ass idiot last tuesday.
Cross Realm Raids
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
We previously introduced the ability to form cross-realm parties with Real ID friends, and now with Patch 4.3.2, we're adding the ability for players to use that same functionality to form raids to run older normal or heroic raids, or participate in Battlegrounds!
This will allow you to join up with your Real ID friends from other realms and:
As we look forward to the BattleTag system, it’s a very exciting time for World of Warcraft. No matter what realm you and your friends are on you’ll be able to team up and take on group content throughout the game.
Dragon Soul Difficulty Changes
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
During the scheduled server maintenance on the week of January 31, the Dragon Soul raid will become enveloped by the “Power of the Aspects” spell, reducing the health and damage dealt of all enemies in the raid by 5%. This spell will grow progressively stronger over time to reduce the difficulty and make the encounters more accessible. The spell will affect both normal and Heroic difficulties, but it will not affect the Looking for Raid difficulty.
The spell can also be disabled by talking to Lord Afrasastrasz at the beginning of Dragon Soul, if a raid wishes to attempt the encounters without the aid of the Dragon Aspects.
For those of you who raided in Firelands and/or Icecrown you’re no doubt aware that as time goes on we want to keep people progressing by adjusting the difficulty. For any number of reasons a group may be having difficulty on a specific encounter each week, and our intent in adjusting the content is to ensure the ability to keep progressing, enjoying the content, and gearing up. With Icecrown we progressively buffed the players, and while this slow progression (and ability to opt-out of the buff) were both beneficial, it led to an expectation of your characters power, and once you left the raid you could certainly feel less effective. For Firelands we attempted to fix that by nerfing the content instead of buffing players, but we nerfed the content difficulty all at one time, which was counterproductive for players who really didn’t need as severe a change as we made. With Dragon Soul we’re attempting to do the best of both by having a progressive nerf to the content, keeping player power constant while providing small increases in assistance over a long period of time, as well as allowing players to opt-out of the assistance by speaking to Lord Afrasastrasz.
We hope you continue to enjoy Dragon Soul, and that these changes encourage you to attempt a higher difficulty, or just keep pushing to down that next boss.
4.3.2 PTR and New File Optimization Tech
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
With the 4.3.2 patch we’ll be testing some new file optimization tech. As you may be aware, with previous major expansion patches (2.0, 3.0, 4.0, etc.) we’ve carried out a time-consuming process to reorganize the game files currently installed on your hard drive to integrate all previous patch files, essentially ‘cleaning up’ what’s on your computer and reducing the full installation size. This process used to require an amount of free hard drive space double that of the entire installation size to complete, which is why we’ve reserved them for large expansion-sized patches.
The new tech we’re testing with the 4.3.2 PTR will process these cleanups with no additional hard drive space required beyond what the patch is adding. Because of that you may see them appear more frequently with patches.
While the cleanup is occurring you’ll see a specific message on the launcher informing you the process is currently taking place. If you encounter any issues with the new process please be sure to visit our support site at http://www.battle.net/support/
Items
Client Strings Changes
Originally Posted by MMO-Champion
Achievements Changes
Originally Posted by MMO-Champion
Dungeons & Raids
Spell Changes
Originally Posted by MMO-Champion
General
Mounts
Druid (Forums / Talent Calculator)
Tier 13
Hunter (Forums / Talent Calculator)
Beast Mastery
Mage (Forums / Cataclysm Talent Calculator / Beta Skills/Talents)
Fire
Paladin (Forums / Talent Calculator)
Tier 13
10 Man
Official Patch 4.3.2 Notes
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Classes: General
Druid (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
Hunter (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
Mage (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
Paladin (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
Priest (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
Rogue (Forums / Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
More...
The information isn't official but assuming everything goes as planned, Patch 4.3.2 should be going live this week. It's not like it can go wrong 2 weeks in a row, right?
This patch is bringing us Cross Realm raids for older content with RealID friends, a few item tweaks and new items, a few new achievements, and a reduced game client install size. It's also bringing the 64 bit client to the game, even if it won't be directly included in the game client it will be available as a separate download after the release of the patch.
And yes, there's technically a 0.5% chance that something can go wrong. Just like last week the patch is scheduled for deployment internally, the patch files are already available on Blizzard's patch servers, and everything points to a release this week. It doesn't mean that things can't go wrong like last week, and this is exactly why Blizzard doesn't announce patches early and this is exactly why I looked like a big-ass idiot last tuesday.
Cross Realm Raids
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
We previously introduced the ability to form cross-realm parties with Real ID friends, and now with Patch 4.3.2, we're adding the ability for players to use that same functionality to form raids to run older normal or heroic raids, or participate in Battlegrounds!
This will allow you to join up with your Real ID friends from other realms and:
- Form a cross-realm raid and use Raid Finder
- Jump in to any classic dungeon or raid and be automatically placed in the same instance
- Join forces and dominate the Battlegrounds
As we look forward to the BattleTag system, it’s a very exciting time for World of Warcraft. No matter what realm you and your friends are on you’ll be able to team up and take on group content throughout the game.
Dragon Soul Difficulty Changes
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
During the scheduled server maintenance on the week of January 31, the Dragon Soul raid will become enveloped by the “Power of the Aspects” spell, reducing the health and damage dealt of all enemies in the raid by 5%. This spell will grow progressively stronger over time to reduce the difficulty and make the encounters more accessible. The spell will affect both normal and Heroic difficulties, but it will not affect the Looking for Raid difficulty.
The spell can also be disabled by talking to Lord Afrasastrasz at the beginning of Dragon Soul, if a raid wishes to attempt the encounters without the aid of the Dragon Aspects.
For those of you who raided in Firelands and/or Icecrown you’re no doubt aware that as time goes on we want to keep people progressing by adjusting the difficulty. For any number of reasons a group may be having difficulty on a specific encounter each week, and our intent in adjusting the content is to ensure the ability to keep progressing, enjoying the content, and gearing up. With Icecrown we progressively buffed the players, and while this slow progression (and ability to opt-out of the buff) were both beneficial, it led to an expectation of your characters power, and once you left the raid you could certainly feel less effective. For Firelands we attempted to fix that by nerfing the content instead of buffing players, but we nerfed the content difficulty all at one time, which was counterproductive for players who really didn’t need as severe a change as we made. With Dragon Soul we’re attempting to do the best of both by having a progressive nerf to the content, keeping player power constant while providing small increases in assistance over a long period of time, as well as allowing players to opt-out of the assistance by speaking to Lord Afrasastrasz.
We hope you continue to enjoy Dragon Soul, and that these changes encourage you to attempt a higher difficulty, or just keep pushing to down that next boss.
4.3.2 PTR and New File Optimization Tech
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
With the 4.3.2 patch we’ll be testing some new file optimization tech. As you may be aware, with previous major expansion patches (2.0, 3.0, 4.0, etc.) we’ve carried out a time-consuming process to reorganize the game files currently installed on your hard drive to integrate all previous patch files, essentially ‘cleaning up’ what’s on your computer and reducing the full installation size. This process used to require an amount of free hard drive space double that of the entire installation size to complete, which is why we’ve reserved them for large expansion-sized patches.
The new tech we’re testing with the 4.3.2 PTR will process these cleanups with no additional hard drive space required beyond what the patch is adding. Because of that you may see them appear more frequently with patches.
While the cleanup is occurring you’ll see a specific message on the launcher informing you the process is currently taking place. If you encounter any issues with the new process please be sure to visit our support site at http://www.battle.net/support/
Items
- Vial of Shadows had the proc damage cut in third and proc frequency tripled to reduce burst in PvP.
- Many of the original level 60 ranked PvP gear items have had Replica added to the start of their name, making their name identical to the versions being sold in Area 52, for example the Replica High Warlord's Cleaver. However, they still retain their higher item level and stats.
- Gurthalak, Voice of the Deeps had its proc time increased to 12 seconds from 10 seconds. This change was made to all three versions of the item.
- The three new items added in Patch 4.3.2 are found on the TCG Loot vendor in Booty Bay. They are part of the Timewalkers: War of the Ancients expansion. (Feldrake, Eye of the Legion, and Demon Hunter's Aspect)
Client Strings Changes
Originally Posted by MMO-Champion
- ERR_PARENTAL_CONTROLS_DISCONNECT_WARNING = "You will be disconnected due to parental controls in %d |4minute:minutes;.";
- ERR_PARENTAL_CONTROLS_DISCONNECT_WARNING_SOON = "You will be disconnected due to parental controls in less than 1 minute.";
- TIME_PLAYED_ALERT = "You have been playing for %s. Excessive gameplay can cause inconvenience in your daily life.";
Achievements Changes
Originally Posted by MMO-Champion
Dungeons & Raids
- Glory of the Dragon Soul Raider now properly shows the Reins of the Twilight Harbinger as a reward.
- Hero of the Alliance: Ruthless: New achievement, rewards Hero of the Alliance title.
- Hero of the Horde: Ruthless: New achievement, rewards Hero of the Horde title.
- Ruthless Gladiator's Twilight Drake Obtain the Ruthless Gladiator's Twilight Drake from Arena Season 10 of Cataclysm.
Spell Changes
Originally Posted by MMO-Champion
General
Mounts
- Feldrake Summons and dismisses a rideable feldrake. This is a flying mount. 1.5 sec cast
- Eye of the Legion Right Click to summon and dismiss an Eye of the Legion. Instant
Tier 13
- Item - Druid T13 Balance 4P Bonus (Starsurge) now also increases Starsurge damage by 10%
Beast Mastery
- Aspect of the Hawk now increases ranged Attack Power by 2700, up from 2000.
- Deterrence now also reduces all damage taken by 30% while active.
- Black Arrow now ticks every 2 secs instead of every 3 secs. Damage is now spread over 20 secs, up from 15 secs.
- Lock and Load no longer affects Arcane Shots.
- Bombardment now lasts 5 secs instead of affecting your next multi shot only.
Fire
Tier 13
- Item - Paladin T13 Holy 4P Bonus (Holy Radiance) now increases healing done by Holy Radiance by 5%, down from 20%.
- Holy Radiance now costs 40% of base mana, up from 35%.
10 Man
- Sludge Spew: Inflicts 29250 43875 to 30750 46125 Shadow damage to an enemy.
- Stomp: Splits 750000 damage between all targets within 25 yards. Morchok's current target and their The two targets closest ally will to Morchok take a double portion of the damage.
- Void Diffusion: Deals 180000 Shadow damage split evenly between units. In LFR mode, the base this damage dealt is 50,000. does not split.
- Stomp: Splits 750000 damage between all targets within 25 yards. Morchok's current target and their The two targets closest ally will to Morchok take a double portion of the damage.
- Void Diffusion: Deals 269100 Shadow damage split evenly between units. In LFR mode, the base this damage dealt is 50,000. does not split.
- Sludge Spew: Inflicts 43875 82875 to 46125 87125 Shadow damage to an enemy.
- Stomp: Splits 2300000 to 2700000 damage between all targets within 25 yards. Morchok's current target and their The two targets closest ally will to Morchok take a double portion of the damage.
- Void Diffusion: Deals 540000 Shadow damage split evenly between units. In LFR mode, the base this damage dealt is 50,000. does not split.
- Stomp: Splits 2000000 damage between all targets within 25 yards. Morchok's current target and their The two targets closest ally will to Morchok take a double portion of the damage.
- Void Diffusion: Deals 807300 Shadow damage split evenly between units. In LFR mode, the base this damage dealt is 50,000. does not split.
- Vial of Shadows: Your melee and ranged attacks have a chance to trigger an additional attack for 4028 12084 to 6042 18127 physical damage.
- Vial of Shadows: Your melee and ranged attacks have a chance to trigger an additional attack for 3568 10706 to 5353 16059 physical damage.
- Vial of Shadows: Your melee and ranged attacks have a chance to trigger an additional attack for 4546 13640 to 6819 20461 physical damage.
Official Patch 4.3.2 Notes
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Classes: General
- Vengeance is no longer triggered by receiving damage from other players.
- The Tier 13 Balance Druid 4-piece bonus now also increases the damage of Starsurge by 10%, in addition to its current effect.
- Aspect of the Hawk now grants roughly 35% more attack power.
- Deterrence now also reduces damage taken by 30% while active.
- Black Arrow now ticks every 2 seconds for 20 seconds, as opposed to every 3 seconds for 15 seconds. The total damage dealt by the ability is unchanged.
- Lock and Load no longer benefits Arcane Shot, nor is it consumed by Arcane Shot.
- Fireball damage has been reduced by roughly 6%.
- Pyroblast damage has been reduced by roughly 6%.
- Holy Radiance now costs 40% of base mana, up from 35%.
- Mass Dispel should again prefer dispelling targets that have magic effects that can be dispelled.
- Adrenaline Rush no longer triggers a global cooldown.
- You can now form same-faction raids with Real ID friends, allowing you to enter Raid Finder in groups larger than 5, run older normal or heroic raids, or participate in Battlegrounds. You will not yet be able to run normal or heroic Dragon Soul with cross-realm raids of Real ID friends.
- Several typo fixes and clarified descriptions have been added to the Dungeon Journal entries for Dragon Soul.
- Players can no longer win multiple copies of the same item on a single Raid Finder boss kill. For example, a player who chooses Need on two set piece tokens or two weapons and wins the first, will not be eligible for the second on that particular boss.
- The roaming Eyes of Occu'thar have been replaced by hateful creatures who serve Alizabal.
- Warmaster Blackhorn
- The visual warning for Twilight Elites' Blade Rush should be easier to see.
- Vial of Shadows damage (Lightning Strike) has been reduced to approximately one-third of previous damage. However, it will now trigger approximately 3 times as often. This is intended to keep overall DPS the same while reducing burst damage, especially in PvP.
More...
