Patch 5.4.2 PTR - Build 17595
Build 17595 will be deployed to the PTR realms soon.
Treasure Goblin Sounds
Spell Changes
Originally Posted by MMO-Champion
Priest (Forums)
Discipline
Warrior (Forums)
Strings Changes
Originally Posted by MMO-Champion
Blizzard Store Updated
The Battle.Net store was updated today to completely remove the old store that sold physical goods, replacing it with one that only sells the virtual items. Physical goods will be back in the future.
It may look familiar, as it is very similar to the Battle.Net Launcher store mockup! You can find the other mockups in the original post.
EU Connected Realms
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
We're not asking for perfect balance. All we're asking for is to make it so the game is actually playable.
The problem is not the ratio of horde/alliance. It's that one side is utterly dead and has empty cities, practically no guilds, no crafters and barely anything on the AH, all while the other faction is flourishing.
Why can't a heavily Horde server be connected to a heavily Alliance one?
When the population level allows it, that's what we're trying to do with Connected Realms. But as I said before, there are for example more Horde-heavy PvP realms than Alliance-heavy ones, so that can't be done with them all.
When reading sites like MMO-Champion, you can see, that Connected Realms are being pushed at US, is there a reason why you are just holding them back at EU? Would like to see a reply to this issue?
We're not holding back, we started a few weeks ago and more are regularly being added http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/8427764143
Have you ever considered offering free faction transfers on servers with high imbalance?
We experimented with it in the past—people are very reluctant to leave their guilds and friends to change sides. Also, there's a risk they could be one of just a few who move, then end up vastly outnumbered on the minority side. Judging by past trials, it's just not something people are willing to do. So we're looking for other ways to help. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Blue Tweets
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
PvP
explain to me why, the expac which makes pve so accessible, makes pvp (trial of glad) much less accessible?
Trial is for elite players who want only skill to matter. More accessible PvP will be things like Ashran. (Source)
So again, for PvP servers, we want balanced faction mergers to make the xpac/world seem dangerous. Mergers don't solve that
It's impossible to solve that. Example: there are far more Horde on NA PvP realms. We are solving it locally for 6.0 PvP zone. (Source)
It's possible to solve. Give free transfers/faction changes for those in the minority populations.
We experimented with that a lot in the past. Many folks don't want to move without their entire guild and network of friends. (Source)
It's one of those herding cats deals where you need to motivate a lot of people to do something and everyone is scared to be first. (Source)
Character / Items
I approve of less gems - but why remove metas? It's the "head enchant". You're keeping leg armor and should inscriptions, no?
Metas aren't a decision about which to use and their procs junk up the UI and logs without adding much reactive gameplay. (Source)
I haven't seen this info. Are there melee-specific, caster dps-specific and tank-specific accessory stats too?
Armor is a tank stat. Some items may have AP or SP. It's less important to have DPS-only stats, in part because there are so many. (Source)
so primary stats will be switching based on your spec. Will secondary stats change as well?
No. (Source)
Will all gear 1-90 be modified to use the new 'primary' stats as well? Are secondary stats static or random on new gear?
Except for hit and expertise, most of the gear changes will likely only affect new gear. We'll have to see though. (Source)
Active mana regen is possibly a better model than the spirit arms race? More interesting gameplay, possibly, too.
Spirit is one of (possibly the) most interesting gearing decision though because it is so subjective. (Source)
Inconsistent design. Other gear adapts to the wearer, but healers have to wait for spirit gear to drop.
We are treating Spirit as a secondary stat, which does not adapt. Intellect is a healer's primary stat. (Source)
Spirit serves no purpose outside healing roles. It is a primary stat for healers.
You can call it what you want, but we call it a secondary stat, like crit or bonus armor. (Source)
So the new tertiary stats and sockets are like a mild version of the D3 random stats, right?
I'd say they are more like an extension of Warforged. WoW loot will still be much less random than D3 loot. (Source)
Will there be warforged items (so +6 itemlevels) together with gems and tertiary stats?
Yes, but getting that trifecta will be extremely rare. Getting one of the three will be more common. (Source)
With the removal of hit/exp, will attacks no longer have a chance to miss/dodge?
It will behave as if you were hit capped for yellow attacks. (Source)
How about expertise? For my tank i've got 15%, and DPS class is happy with 7.5% for attacks from behind.
Tanks will always hit. Melee will still have a chance to be parried from the front. (Source)
make spells have a chance to be resisted from the front then
We prefer tank up front, melee behind, and ranged spread out. There are plenty of encounter-specific exceptions of course. (Source)
Glyphs, Talents, Now tertiary stats, do you fear that fight to fight customizations could get out of control?
That's a risk but it seems like a reasonable compromise between earning gear too quick or too slowly. (Source)
This is the long tail I tried to describe. You can get good gear pretty quickly, but getting great gear takes more effort. (Source)
Today, you might not get a piece for a long time, but if we just sped up drops then you might finish in 2-3 weeks. (Source)
Love the item squish, but do you think it's squished enough, or will we need another one in 2-3 expacs?
It's possible we'll need to do it periodically, but we made it 5 expansions before this one. (Source)
People like to see big numbers and they like to see those numbers grow. Item Squish will ruin this game. #fact.
The response was pretty positive among folks who tried it at Blizzcon or didn't even notice. So I guess that makes it #opinion. (Source)
More...
Build 17595 will be deployed to the PTR realms soon.
Treasure Goblin Sounds
Spell Changes
Originally Posted by MMO-Champion
Discipline
- Power Word: Barrier Summons a holy barrier on the target location that reduces all damage done to friendly targets by 100% 25%. While within the barrier, spellcasting will not be interrupted by damage. The barrier lasts for 10 sec. Priest - Discipline Spec. 6.3% of Base Mana. 40 yd range. Instant. 3 min cooldown.
- Intervene Run at high speed towards a party or raid member, removing all movement-impairing effects upon you, intercepting the next melee or ranged attack within 10 sec while the target remains within 25 yards. 25 yd range. Instant. 30 sec cooldown.
Strings Changes
Originally Posted by MMO-Champion
- BLIZZARD_CHALLENGE_DENIED_DESCRIPTION - [PH] You have entered your information incorrectly too many times.
- BLIZZARD_CHALLENGE_DENIED_TITLE - [PH] Authentication Error
- BLIZZARD_CHALLENGE_ERROR_DESCRIPTION - The Shop has encountered an error.|nPlease try again later.
- BLIZZARD_CHALLENGE_ERROR_TITLE - Internal Error
- BLIZZARD_CHALLENGE_OKAY - Okay
- BLIZZARD_STORE_ERROR_MESSAGE_ALREADY_OWNED - You already have this product!
- BLIZZARD_STORE_ERROR_TITLE_ALREADY_OWNED - Already Owned
- BLIZZARD_STORE_SPLASH_BANNER_DISCOUNT_FORMAT - |cff224f01%d%% OFF!|r
- BLIZZARD_STORE_SPLASH_BANNER_FEATURED - |cff014879FEATURED!|r
- BLIZZARD_STORE_SPLASH_BANNER_NEW - |cff014879NEW!|r
- ERR_AUTH_CHALLENGE_UI_INVALID - [PH] Action cannot be completed at this time.|nPlease disable your addons and try again.
- MAC_OPEN_UNIVERSAL_ACCESS1090 - In order to use this option, you must grant access to %s in Security & Privacy preferences, located in System Preferences. Would you like to open System Preferences now?
Blizzard Store Updated
The Battle.Net store was updated today to completely remove the old store that sold physical goods, replacing it with one that only sells the virtual items. Physical goods will be back in the future.
It may look familiar, as it is very similar to the Battle.Net Launcher store mockup! You can find the other mockups in the original post.
EU Connected Realms
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
We're not asking for perfect balance. All we're asking for is to make it so the game is actually playable.
The problem is not the ratio of horde/alliance. It's that one side is utterly dead and has empty cities, practically no guilds, no crafters and barely anything on the AH, all while the other faction is flourishing.
Why can't a heavily Horde server be connected to a heavily Alliance one?
When the population level allows it, that's what we're trying to do with Connected Realms. But as I said before, there are for example more Horde-heavy PvP realms than Alliance-heavy ones, so that can't be done with them all.
When reading sites like MMO-Champion, you can see, that Connected Realms are being pushed at US, is there a reason why you are just holding them back at EU? Would like to see a reply to this issue?
We're not holding back, we started a few weeks ago and more are regularly being added http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/8427764143
Have you ever considered offering free faction transfers on servers with high imbalance?
We experimented with it in the past—people are very reluctant to leave their guilds and friends to change sides. Also, there's a risk they could be one of just a few who move, then end up vastly outnumbered on the minority side. Judging by past trials, it's just not something people are willing to do. So we're looking for other ways to help. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Blue Tweets
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
PvP
explain to me why, the expac which makes pve so accessible, makes pvp (trial of glad) much less accessible?
Trial is for elite players who want only skill to matter. More accessible PvP will be things like Ashran. (Source)
So again, for PvP servers, we want balanced faction mergers to make the xpac/world seem dangerous. Mergers don't solve that
It's impossible to solve that. Example: there are far more Horde on NA PvP realms. We are solving it locally for 6.0 PvP zone. (Source)
It's possible to solve. Give free transfers/faction changes for those in the minority populations.
We experimented with that a lot in the past. Many folks don't want to move without their entire guild and network of friends. (Source)
It's one of those herding cats deals where you need to motivate a lot of people to do something and everyone is scared to be first. (Source)
Character / Items
I approve of less gems - but why remove metas? It's the "head enchant". You're keeping leg armor and should inscriptions, no?
Metas aren't a decision about which to use and their procs junk up the UI and logs without adding much reactive gameplay. (Source)
I haven't seen this info. Are there melee-specific, caster dps-specific and tank-specific accessory stats too?
Armor is a tank stat. Some items may have AP or SP. It's less important to have DPS-only stats, in part because there are so many. (Source)
so primary stats will be switching based on your spec. Will secondary stats change as well?
No. (Source)
Will all gear 1-90 be modified to use the new 'primary' stats as well? Are secondary stats static or random on new gear?
Except for hit and expertise, most of the gear changes will likely only affect new gear. We'll have to see though. (Source)
Active mana regen is possibly a better model than the spirit arms race? More interesting gameplay, possibly, too.
Spirit is one of (possibly the) most interesting gearing decision though because it is so subjective. (Source)
Inconsistent design. Other gear adapts to the wearer, but healers have to wait for spirit gear to drop.
We are treating Spirit as a secondary stat, which does not adapt. Intellect is a healer's primary stat. (Source)
Spirit serves no purpose outside healing roles. It is a primary stat for healers.
You can call it what you want, but we call it a secondary stat, like crit or bonus armor. (Source)
So the new tertiary stats and sockets are like a mild version of the D3 random stats, right?
I'd say they are more like an extension of Warforged. WoW loot will still be much less random than D3 loot. (Source)
Will there be warforged items (so +6 itemlevels) together with gems and tertiary stats?
Yes, but getting that trifecta will be extremely rare. Getting one of the three will be more common. (Source)
With the removal of hit/exp, will attacks no longer have a chance to miss/dodge?
It will behave as if you were hit capped for yellow attacks. (Source)
How about expertise? For my tank i've got 15%, and DPS class is happy with 7.5% for attacks from behind.
Tanks will always hit. Melee will still have a chance to be parried from the front. (Source)
make spells have a chance to be resisted from the front then
We prefer tank up front, melee behind, and ranged spread out. There are plenty of encounter-specific exceptions of course. (Source)
Glyphs, Talents, Now tertiary stats, do you fear that fight to fight customizations could get out of control?
That's a risk but it seems like a reasonable compromise between earning gear too quick or too slowly. (Source)
This is the long tail I tried to describe. You can get good gear pretty quickly, but getting great gear takes more effort. (Source)
Today, you might not get a piece for a long time, but if we just sped up drops then you might finish in 2-3 weeks. (Source)
Love the item squish, but do you think it's squished enough, or will we need another one in 2-3 expacs?
It's possible we'll need to do it periodically, but we made it 5 expansions before this one. (Source)
People like to see big numbers and they like to see those numbers grow. Item Squish will ruin this game. #fact.
The response was pretty positive among folks who tried it at Blizzcon or didn't even notice. So I guess that makes it #opinion. (Source)
More...