News

Patch 5.3 - Hotfixes June 14

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:24:11 +0000

Battle.net

Here you'll find a list of hotfixes that address various issues related to the recently released World of Warcraft patch 5.3: Escalation. Hotfixes are updates we make on our end without requiring you to download a new patch. Some of the hotfixes below take effect the moment they were implemented, while others may require your realm to be restarted to go into effect. Please keep in mind that some issues cannot be addressed without a client-side patch update. We will continue to update this list as additional hotfixes are applied.

Patch Information

Creatures

Kor'kron Commanders are now immune to charms.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Throne of Thunder
- Lei Shen
  - Bouncing Bolts that do not impact with a player will no longer cause Unharnessed Power to spawn on Raid Finder difficulty.

Pet Battles

PvP Pet Battles are now required to last at least a minute before the match is eligible for experience to be awarded

Items

Meta and blue gem sockets have been added to helmets awarded from Heroic Scenarios. Bonuses on the helmets have been reduced slightly to offset the addition of those sockets.

Brawler's Guild

Razorgrin should no longer slowly regenerate health.

(source)

Patch 5.4 PTR Coming Soon!

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 11:02:46 +0000

Battle.net

Patch 5.4 will be available for testing on the Public Test Realms (PTR) soon! Participating on the Public Test Realms lets you test new content before it's available. This patch includes a brand new Raid, a new area: Timeless Isles, class tuning changes, assorted bug fixes, and more.

PTR Disclaimers

Please keep in mind that the notes below are not final, and a great deal could change before the release of patch 5.4.
Not all the content listed may be available for testing or may only be available during a limited testing window during the 5.4 PTR. When the PTR is available, keep an eye on the PTR Discussion forum for further details.

General

New Raid: Siege of Orgrimmar
- More information coming soon.
New Feature: Flexible Raid Difficulty
- This is a new raid difficulty designed for pre-made groups of 10 to 25 players or any number in between. This means it's possible to have raids of 15 or 22 players! Difficulty will adjust automatically based on the number of players present with encounters intended to provide a challenge roughly between Raid Finder and Normal difficulty.
- Flexible Raid difficulty requires a pre-made group to join but has no minimum item level requirements or role restrictions. Both BattleTag™ and Real ID friends are eligible to participate.
- Loot quality will be between Raid Finder and Normal difficulty and awarded through a personal loot system (similar to Raid Finder). Bonus rolls and loot specialization will also be supported.
- Players will be able to earn raid achievements just like in Normal or Heroic difficulty.
- Flexible Raid difficulty has a lockout that is separate from Raid Finder and Normal difficulty.
- To learn more about Flexible Raids, please visit our blog titled: A Raid for All Seasons: Flexible Raid Preview.
New Area: Timeless Isle
- More information coming soon.
New Feature: Proving Grounds
- Proving Grounds is a new feature for individual players to test and improve their combat skills.
- At the Proving Grounds, players may undertake trials, designed for Damage, Tank, or Healer roles.
- It provides a great opportunity to learn how to Tank or Heal, without the need of a group.
- Each trial is available in four separate difficulties: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Endless. Harder difficulties include more difficult and varied enemies.
- Endless mode allows you to test your mettle against increasingly difficult enemies. Compare your best scores to friends and guildmates!
- [PTR]: Access to the Proving Grounds and more information is coming soon.
New Feature: Virtual Realms
- Virtual Realms are sets of realms that are fused together, and will behave exactly as if they were one cohesive realm. Players on the same Virtual Realm will be able to join guilds, access a single Auction House, join arena teams and raids, as well run dungeons or group up to complete quests.
- Players belonging to the same Virtual Realm will have a (#) symbol next to their name.

Classes

General
- Fears cast by players no longer increases the target's movement speed.
- Vengeance gains from being critically hit have been halved.
Death Knight
- Blood
  - Dancing Rune Weapon no longer costs Runic Power.
- Unholy
  - Master of Ghouls now reduces the cooldown of Raise Dead by 60 seconds.
Druid
- General
  - Innervate now causes the target to gain mana equal to 50% of the casting Druid’s Spirit every second for 10 seconds.
  - Wild Mushroom's Restoration version of the ability now summons a single mushroom at the friendly target’s location. If the mushroom is recast, the mushroom moves to the new location and retains its accumulated bonus healing. A single mushroom now heals for as much as what 3 mushrooms combined healed for previously.
  - Wrath has its mana cost increased by 50%.
- Talents
  - Dream of Cenarius has been completely redesigned to reduce complexity and increase usability, but maintain the spirit of the effects. Benefits now varies by specialization.
    - Balance: Increases the amount healed by Healing Touch by 20%. Casting Healing Touch increases the damage bonus of the Druid's next Eclipse by 10%.
    - Feral: Increases the amount healed by Healing Touch by 20%. Casting Healing Touch causes the Druid's next Rip to deal 15% increased damage.
    - Guardian: Increases the amount healed by Healing Touch by 20%. Mangle (Bear) critical strikes have a 20% chance to make the next Healing Touch or Rebirth instant, free, and castable in all forms.
    - Restoration: Causes Wrath to deal 20% more damage and heals a nearby friendly target for 100% of the damage done.
  - Heart of the Wild when activated, now also provides a 25% bonus to healing for Restoration Druids.
  - Mass Entanglement no longer has a limit on the number of targets that could be affected, up from 5.
  - Nature's Swiftness is no longer a talent, and is now an ability learned by Restoration Druids at level 30.
  - Nature’s Vigil when activated, causes healing spells now trigger an additional heal on a nearby ally for 25% of the amount healed. This is in addition to the existing effect where it damages a nearby enemy target for 25% of the healing done.
  - Soul of the Forest has been partially redesigned to make it more attractive to Balance, Guardian, and Restoration Druids.
    - Balance: Wrath, Starfire, and Starsurge casts have a 8% chance to cause the next Astral Communion to instantly advance the Druid to the next Eclipse.
    - Guardian: Increases Rage generation from Mangle (Bear) by 20% instead of 30%, but the bonus now also applies to Rage generated by Primal Fury.
    - Restoration: Now causes the Druid to gain 100% haste (up from 75%) on their next spell after casting Swiftmend.
  - Ysera's Gift, a new talent healing the Druid for 5% of their maximum health every 5 seconds. If the Druid is at full health, it will heal the most injured friendly target nearby instead. This talent fills the spot vacated by Nature's Swiftness.
- Glyphs
  - New Glyph: Glyph of Efflorescence increases the healing done by Swiftmend by 20%, causes the Efflorescence healing effect to be triggered by Wild Mushroom instead of Swiftmend, and lasts as long as the Wild Mushroom is active.
  - Glyph of Innervate now causes Innervate to give both the Druid and the target 60% of the normal effect of the spell if it's cast on a target other than the Druid.
- Balance
  - Eclipse now energizes the Druid for 50% of their maximum mana when triggered, up from 35%.
  - Moonkin Form no longer reduces all damage taken by 15%.
  - Starfire has its mana cost increased by 50%.
  - Starsurge has its mana cost increased by 50%.
- Restoration
  - Genesis is a new Restoration spell learned at level 88. Genesis targets all party or raid members within 60 yards and accelerates the casting Druid's Rejuvenation effects, causing them to heal and expire at 400% of the normal rate. Costs the same amount of mana to cast as Rejuvenation.
  - Swiftmend's area-of-effect healing effect is now called Efflorescence.
  - Wild Mushroom: Bloom is no longer capable of critical strikes, and accumulates overhealing done by Rejuvenation by 100%, down from 150%. Overhealing bonus no longer benefits from Naturalist or Mastery: Harmony.
Hunter
- General
  - Arcane Shot had its damage and focus cost increased by 50%.
- Talents
  - Aspect of the Iron Hawk now reduces all damage taken by 10%, down from 15%.
  - Silencing Shot is no longer a talent and is now an ability for Marksman Hunters.
- Marksmanship
  - Binding Shot is no longer a Marksman Hunter ability and is once again a talent.
Monk
- Talents
  - Ring of Peace has a new visual effect.
Paladin
- General
  - Turn Evil now has a 15-second cooldown. (Note: Glyph of Turn Evil will be redesigned and noted in a future PTR update.)
- Talents
  - Burden of Guilt has been replaced with a new talent called Evil is a Point of View, which allows the Paladin to use Turn Evil on players and beasts.
  - Hand of Purity now reduces damage taken from harmful periodic effects by 80% (up from 70%) and reduces damage taken from harmful periodic effects that cannot be prevented by immunities by 40% (up from 0%).
  - Unbreakable Spirit has been simplified. It now reduces the cooldown on Divine Shield, Divine Protection, and Lay on Hands by 50%.
- Glyphs
  - Glyph of Inquisition has been redesigned. The glyph now increases the duration of Inquisition by 30 seconds (up to a maximum of 2 minutes) each time the Paladin lands a killing blow on targets that yield experience or honor.
- Retribution
  - Guardian of the Ancient Kings (Retribution version) now has a reduced cooldown of 3 minutes, down from 5 minutes, and the maximum number of stacks has been reduced to 12.
  - Inquisition now lasts 20 seconds per charge of Holy Power consumed, up from 10 seconds.
Priest
- General
  - Leap of Faith no longer has a facing requirement.
- Talents
  - Angelic Feather now increases allies' movement speed by 80%, up from 60% and the feathers have a duration of 10 minutes, up from 5 minutes.
  - Divine Insight for Discipline Priests now has a 100% chance to activate its effect after using Penance, up from 40%.
  - Twist of Fate's damage and healing threshold to activate has been increased to 35%, up from 20%.
- Shadow
  - Shadowform no longer reduces all damage taken by 15%.
- Class Armor
  - Restoration PvP 4-piece set bonus is no longer an area-of-effect and only affects the character that dispels Vampiric Touch.
Rogue
- General
  - Recuperate now restores 4% of maximum health every 3 seconds, up from 3%.
- Talents
  - Nightstalker now increases damage dealt by abilities while stealthed by 50%, up from 25%.
- Combat
  - Killing Spree targeting has been changed. If Blade Flurry is not active, Killing Spree will now hit the Rogue's target 7 times or pick the closest eligible target if none had been selected. Killing Spree will continue to work as it has while Blade Flurry is active.
Shaman
- General
  - Healing Rain's radius has been increased to 12 yards, up from 10 yards.
- Talents
  - Astral Shift now has a cooldown of 90 seconds, down from 120 seconds.
  - Unleashed Fury's Flametongue Weapon effect now increases Lightning Bolt damage by 30%, up from 20%.
- Glyphs
  - Glyph of Chaining now increases the cooldown on Chain Heal by 2 seconds, down from a 4 second increase.
  - Glyph of Fire Elemental Totem now reduces the cooldown and duration for Fire Elemental Totem by 50%, up from 40%.
  - Glyph of Riptide reduces the initial direct healing of Riptide by 75%, down from a 90% reduction to healing.
- Enhancement
  - Stormstrike's debuff now also affects Elemental Blast.
- Restoration
  - Riptide's mana cost has been reduced by 25%.
Warlock
- General
  - Fel Armor no longer reduces all damage taken by 10%.
- Talents
  - Howl of Terror is no longer a talent and is now a baseline skill for all Warlocks.
  - Demonic Breath, a new talent replacing Howl of Terror. The Warlock sends out a cone of Shadow damage, snaring targets, has a 20-second cooldown.
  - Kil'jaden's Cunning is no longer a passive ability. Kil'jaden's Cunning now now has a duration of 15 seconds with a 1.5 minute cooldown.
  - Mannoroth's Fury is no longer a passive ability. Mannoroth's Fury's now has a duration of 15 seconds with a 1.5 minute cooldown.
Warrior
- General
  - Enrage now also triggers on critical hits from Devastate and Shield Slam.
  - Shattering Throw no longer costs rage.
- Talents
  - Enraged Regeneration now instantly heals the warrior for 10% of their total health (up from 5%), and an additional 10% over 5 seconds (up from 5%).
  - Vigilance no longer transfers damage to the Warrior. The talent now reduces amount of damage the target takes by 30% for 12 seconds.
- Arms
  - Slam now does an additional 10% damage to targets affected by the warrior’s Colossus Smash.
- Fury
  - Titan’s Grip now works with polearms.

Quests

The Strength of One's Foes: Players should no longer be receiving excess Sigils of Power or Sigils of Wisdom.

Creatures

Bonus Roll change: Players that don’t have a coin or elect to not use a Bonus Roll when defeating one of the world bosses (Sha of Anger, Galleon, Nalak, and Oondasta) can come back later that same week to use the Bonus Roll. The limit has not changed and remains one attempt and one bonus roll per boss, per week.

Pet Battles

A new pet battle tournament is available on the Timeless Isle, more details coming soon!
Players are now able to trade in any 3 of the same family specific Flawless Battle-Stones for a single Marked Flawless Battle-Stone.
Viewable pet battles will now display working health bars.
Battle Pet levels are now only shown on the map if you are tracking Battle Pets.
Aquatic type's passive effect now reduces damage from damage-over-time effects by 50%, up from 25%.
Critter type's passive effect now makes critters immune to roots, stuns, and sleep effects.
Dragonkin type's passive effect now activates after an attack brings a target's to below 50% health, up from 25%.
Elemental type's passive effect now only affects negative direct effects of weather. (E.g. Sandstorm's accuracy reduction won't be applied, but the damage reduction will.)
Magic type's passive effect now caps damage taken at 35% of maximum health, up from 40%.

Battle Pet

Darkmoon Zeppelin: Several abilities have swapped positions.
Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling: Several abilities have swapped positions.

Battle Pet Abilities

Accuracy now affects the entire team.
Dark Simulacrum has been replaced with a new ability, Rot. Rot deals Undead damage and temporarily turns the enemy pet's type into Undead.
Trihorn Charge now has a 1-round cooldown.
Trihorn Shield now displays the correct amount of damage reduction.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Raids
- The chance for awarding loot from kills or bonus rolls has been increased for Mogu'shan Vaults, Heart of Fear, Terrace of Endless Spring, and Throne of Thunder on Raid Finder difficulty.
- The chance for awarding loot from using a bonus roll has been increased for Throne of Thunder on Normal difficulty.
Dungeons
- Players who obtain a realm-best time in a Challenge Mode dungeon (group must contain at least 3 people from the same realm to qualify) will receive a temporary title specific to each dungeon (e.g. Siegebreaker for Siege of Niuzao temple, Darkmaster for Scholomance, etc.). This title will persist for as long as a player retains the top time on the realm. Holding a realm-best time at any point will also confer a permanent Feat of Strength to record the accomplishment.

PvP

Season 14 Grievous gear is now available. Elite versions of Grievous gear will require a rating of 2000 to purchase.
Season 13 Tyrannical gear can now be purchased with Honor Points.
Season 12 Malevolent gear can now be crafted.
[PTR]: For testing purposes, Grievous Flaskataur will be available near the Niuzao Temple selling standard Grievous gear for gold.

Items

All permanent item enhancements provided by Enchanting, Engineering, Leatherworking, Tailoring, and various vendors and quests are now able to be applied to items of any level. This means all enchantments can now be applied to heirloom items.
- High level enhancements applied to items equipped by low level players have their power scaled down to be similar to enhancements intended for that level range.
- Low level enhancements applied to items equipped by high level players do not grow further in power beyond their intended level range.

UI

The vestigial Use Hardware sound option has been removed.

(source)

Patch 5.3 - Hotfixes June 10

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 21:03:53 +0000

Battle.net

Patch Information

Classes

Hunter
- General
  - Arcane Shot now deals 10% more damage. [Requires a realm restart]
  - Cobra Shot now deals 10% more damage. [Requires a realm restart]
  - Hunter Pets summoned by Stampede now only use auto-attacks against their target. [Requires a realm restart]
  - Steady Shot now deals 10% more damage. [Requires a realm restart]
- Talents
  - Blink Strikes now has a 10-yard minimum range, and the teleportation effect cannot happen more than once every 20 seconds. [Requires a realm restart]

Quest

Destroying the Altars: Master Summoner Zarod should once again drop Master Summoner's Staff, allowing players to complete the quest.
The Might of Three: Buffs from the four celestials should now continue to work properly for players entering the Big Blossom Excavation area. [Requires a realm restart]

Creatures

Bleeding Hollow Tormentor no longer summons a Bleeding Hollow Worg.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Throne of Thunder
- Durumu the Forgotten
  - Elixir of Detect Lesser Invisibility will no longer allow players to see fog beasts while they are invisible.
  - Fixed an issue where Azure Fog may incorrectly trigger Flash Freeze at the end of the Light Spectrum phase.
- Ji-Kun
  - Fixed an issue where players intercepting food globules were not properly gaining stacks of Slimed, preventing them from obtaining higher stacks of the Primal Nutriment damage buff.
- Lei Shen
  - Lei Shen will now always drop a Titan Runestone or Secrets of the Empire for players that are on the legendary quest line. [Requires a realm restart]

Brawler's Guild

Ro-Shambo should now properly display the UI for Rock, Paper, Scissors! if the character was casting a spell at the time.

Bug Fixes

Rocketway rockets in Azshara should no longer be despawning too quickly after being summoned.
Mac
- Fixed an issue where changing the resolution settings could cause hot corners to not work correctly on Mac OS X 10.8.
- ~~Fixed an issue where binding a modifier key to a mouse button could cause the modifier key to become stuck.~~
- Fixed an issue where certain circumstances could cause the cursor to become smaller than intended on the Retina MacBook Pro.

(source)

Patch 5.4: Flexible Raid Preview

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 21:13:13 +0000

Battle.net

Raids in World of Warcraft have a long history of not just challenging players, but changing and evolving as the years and expansions go by. As with everything in the game, we’re always thinking about what more we can bring to raiding to improve the experience for an even wider range of players. While Normal and Heroic Raids are a great fit for many, we feel there’s another gap worth filling—and to that end, we’re currently working on the development of a new type of Raid for the next major content update: Flexible Raiding.

One Size Does Not Fit All

While it’s impossible to fit every player into a neat, tidy archetype, we recognize that we could be providing a better experience to one broad category of raider: social groups comprised predominantly of friends and family, and smaller guilds that do their best to include as many members in their Raid outings possible.

During the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, the 10-player Normal difficulty served these groups of players pretty well, but the unification of 10-player and 25-player into a single difficulty effectively eliminated that niche. While Raid Finder mode is extremely accessible, it doesn’t provide smaller groups with a tight-knit social experience while progressing through the content. In Patch 5.4, we’re planning to introduce a new mode of raiding that allows us to deliver the sort of experience that we think these players are looking for.

/Flex

To fill this void, we’re in the process of developing a new Flexible Raid system, which includes a new difficulty that sits between Raid Finder and Normal difficulty, while still allowing friends, family, or pick-up groups to play together. This difficulty will be available for premade groups of 10–25 players, including any number in between. That means whether you have 11, 14, or 23 friends available for a Raid, they’ll all be able to participate.

The Flexible Raid system is designed so that the challenge level will scale depending on how many players you have in the Raid. So if you switch between 14 players one week and 22 the next, the difficulty will adjust automatically. Keep in mind that unlike Raid Finder, no matchmaking is available, so you’ll need to make sure you invite people to attend—but if some can’t make it, it’s not the end of the world (or the Raid). You’ll also still be able to invite Real ID or Battle.net friends cross-realm. Who you choose to bring and what Item Level gear they’ll need to join your merry band is up to you, too—there’s no Item Level requirement for this Raid difficulty.

Dressed to Kill

A new Raid difficulty also means a new Item Level. Flexible mode will award loot with an Item Level that falls between Raid Finder and Normal quality, and will use the Raid Finder’s “per person” loot system, specialization choices, and bonus rolls, so you won’t need to worry about bringing the “wrong” person and having them win that piece of gear you’ve long been waiting for.

You Have the Keys

We plan to unlock the Flexible Raid difficulty in wings, similar to Raid Finder, but on an accelerated timetable. This new difficulty also has a separate Raid lockout from Raid Finder and Normal difficulty, allowing you to take part in all three if you so desire. You’ll also be able to complete portions of your “Glory of the Orgrimmar Raider” raid meta- achievement in Flexible mode as well as in Normal or Heroic to earn cosmetic rewards such as an epic mount. This will allow Raid groups the opportunity to switch off nights between raids to complete achievements. Finally, taking part in Flexible, Normal, or Heroic difficulty will provide access to additional rewards that won’t be available in Raid Finder.

Getting Down to Brass Tacks

As with any in-development feature, we’re continuing to refine how the Flexible Raid system will work, and we look forward to hearing your constructive feedback from your experiences on the Public Test Realm when the new system goes live.

(source)

Patch 5.3 - Hotfixes June 4 & 5

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 09:35:53 +0000

Battle.net

Patch Information

General

Alliance players are now able to initiate duels in the exterior areas around the Shrine of Seven Stars.

Classes

Druid
- Talents
  - Force of Nature should no longer incorrectly cause targets to face the Treant when summoned.
Hunter
- General
  - Fox pet family's Tailspin ability now have a duration of 10 seconds, down from 30 seconds to make its duration comparable to other pet families' single-target abilities.
Paladin
- Retribution
  - Mastery: Hand of Light was dealing less damage than intended. It now deals the proper amount of additional Holy damage.
Priest
- General
  - Smite's cast time should now be correctly reduced by Borrowed Time.
Warlock
- General
  - Touch of Chaos should now increase Corruption's duration by the proper amount while Glyph of Everlasting Affliction is active.
Warrior
- General
  - Intimidating Shout should now correctly have a range of 8-yards. Additionally, targets affected by the fear effect will no longer receive an increase to their movement speed.

Quests

Commandeer That Balloon!: Players should now be able to interact with the rope ladder.
Lighting the Way: Minimum level to start the quest has been reduced to level 88, down from 89.
Path of the Last Emperor: Fixed an issue where rope anchors were incorrectly despawning for players that moved too far away from Seer Hao Pham Roo.
Perfectly Pure: Pure Water should now be lootable by multiple players in the same party again.
The Fragrance of Money: Bear Musk should have a chance to drop again.
That's a Big Bug: Minimum level to start the quest has been reduced to level 88, down from 89.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Raids
- Throne of Thunder
  - Dark Animus
    - Massive Anima Golems will no longer target the same player with multiple Matter Swap debuffs.
    - Monk's Revival ability will no longer dispel the Matter Swap debuff.
Dungeons
- Gate of the Setting Sun
  - The dungeon should now properly require characters to be at least level 88 before allowing them to enter on Normal difficulty.
Scenarios
- Fixed an issue where players did not receive a Heroic Cache of Treasures for completing the first Heroic Scenario of the day if they had completed a Normal Scenario first.

Items

Sun-Lute of the Phoenix King and Retinal Armors should no longer be scaling incorrectly in the level 85-89 bracket for Battlegrounds.

(source)

Armored Bloodwing Giveaway! [UPDATED]

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 21:10:27 +0000

A few days ago, Blizzard added a new in-game mount to their online store, the Armored Bloodwing, which you can see in action in the video below:

This week-end, we are going to give away 3 such mounts. All you have to do to enter the contest is to post in this thread and tell us what you think of Hearthstone at this stage and how eager you are to play it! We will pick the winners on Monday, at 8pm GMT.

As always, we will watch out for duplicate entries ;)

UPDATE: the winners are RogueTomboy, Clark, and Domnic. They will receive a message from us shortly. Thanks to everyone who participated!

Patch 5.3 - Hotfixes May 29

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 10:22:09 +0000

Battle.net

Patch Information

Classes

Hunter
- General
  - Pets will now correctly auto-cast Bite, Claw, and Smack again.
- Talents
  - Blink Strikes' teleportation will no longer work for pets that have been rooted.
- Beast Mastery
  - Beast Cleave damage against nearby targets will no longer be affected by damage taken modifiers on the primary target.
Monk
- Windwalker
  - Fists of Fury is now able to be cast while affected by a silence effect and silence effects will not interrupt the ability while it's being channeled.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Dungeons
- Wailing Caverns
  - Fixed an issue where Muyoh could be killed, preventing players from completing the dungeon.

PvP

Conquest Quartermasters (Armsmaster Holinka and Roo Desvin) should be available once again.

Items

Meta and yellow gem sockets have been added to helmets created by combining Radical Mojo with a Latent Kor'kron Helm.
Greater Cache of Treasures, awarded for completing Normal difficulty Scenario should now properly have a chance to contain Motes of Harmony.
Tyrannical Gladiator's Greatsword and Tyrannical Gladiator's Decapitator now give 6,195 PvP Power. This is in-line with other Season 13 ilevel 498 two-handed weapons.
Ra'sha's Sacrificial Dagger can no longer be used while in Bizmo's Brawlpub or Brawl'gar Arena.
(CN, TW, KR) Upgrades for items from Terrace of Endless Spring on 25-player normal difficulty now should correctly cost 250 Valor Points.

Battlefield: Barrens

Markers on the World Map for Barrens Commanders are now properly removed when defeated.
Jessina the Blazing's Unstable Magma Totem now has an arming time after spawning and can no longer be hit by area-of-effect damage.
Kor'kron Immolators and Kor'kron Earthshakers no longer use Corrupted Fire Nova or Corrupted Stoneskin totems.
Kor'kron Motivators, Kor'kron Grunts, and Kor'kron Spotters now use Mortal Strike instead of Wild Cleave.

Brawler's Guild

Grandpa Grumplefloot's Bad Luckydos will no longer hop towards players that are not in the arena.

(source)

Midwinter Interview and Announcement!

Tue, 28 May 2013 21:25:47 +0000

Tonight, we are extremely happy to share a special announcement with you! For Tier 16 and beyond, we will be working with one of the best raiding guilds around: Midwinter from US-Sargeras (currently ranked #4 on wowprogress.com for 25-man progress).

Our goal is to bring you our guides and previews much earlier than before. So, here is how we will proceed.

During PTR testing, we will raid with Midwinter. This will enable us to make video previews and initial versions of our written guides.
During the first week of Normal-mode raiding, we will also raid with Midwinter. This will enable us to update our written guides (fights often change between PTR and live) and get the footage we need for our video guides.
During Heroic-mode progression, Midwinter will provide us with their strategies and video footage, so that we can update our written guides and produce Heroic-mode video guides.

For Tier 14 and Tier 15, we have been partnering with Inner Sanctum from EU-Silvermoon, and we will continue working with them, but to a much lesser extent. We will link their 10-man video kills in our guides and they will ensure that the strategies we give are also valid for 10-man raids.

To conclude this announcement, we have an interview with Midwinter for you to read! We asked a number of questions to a few of their important players:

Gondlem (raid leader who plays a DPS Warrior and a Windwalker Monk),
Dpsonroids (guild master who plays a Warlock),
Euphonious (healing lead who plays a Restoration Druid and a Discipline Priest), and
Slootbag (officer who plays a Protection Paladin).

1. You are not a new guild by any means, but you are new to the top 10 of the world's best guilds. Your guild has been improving with every passing tier all the way back since Ulduar. What do you attribute this success to?

Dpsonroids: It's hard to pinpoint any specific thing but obviously an enormous contributing part is the players: we are extremely picky with who we recruit and the entire guild decides if they want to raid with that player or not when their trial is over. This generally leads to your guild improving over time and also a healthier raid environment that allows people to cope better when things get stressful. On rare occasions people change for the worse after they pass their trial, this needs to be actively dealt with and managed by the leadership before it festers. I realize it's hard for some guilds to be selective in their recruiting policies due to burnout and the state of the game causing a dry spell on apps (people bailing from 25 -> 10 mainly). Try to keep things fun and try to be loyal to your players' interests and they will return that loyalty. There are many different successful ways to run a guild but this approach has worked for us.

Gondlem: It's hard to pin that success to one particular thing, there's a lot of elements to it, and also some luck. The only way to get better is to consistently recruit strong players and keep the good players that you already have, and you can't always control that. That said, if I had to point to one thing I think has helped us a lot it's keeping a positive and enjoyable raid environment. We have fun as a guild even while we take progression pretty seriously, and the social environment is really important to everyone in Midwinter. If people have fun raiding and like being part of the guild they'll stick around and do right by the team, and that's helped us a lot over the years. That, and just always keeping an eye out for good players and making room for them when you can. If you think someone is good, you make it work and give them a shot, even if they are undergeared or play a spec you don't really need.

Euphonious: The leadership in Midwinter is some of the best that I've ever seen and I think that many in the guild could agree on this. The amount of time and work that our officers put into every decision for the guild has had a tremendous effect on the success of our guild. Excellent leadership along with the extra work that our members put into each fight in between the pulls has definitely had a significant impact on our ranking.

Slootbag: There are many factors that contribute to our continuous improvement and success. The larger portion in my eyes are attributed to excellent leadership and strategy development from all members of the guild, solid attendance and dedication from raiders. The last point is especially important because if the entire team is highly motivated to excel and succeed, we begin to see results similar to the ones we've produced so far. Countless hours have been poured into fight knowledge, class knowledge, role perfection, and strengthening alts, not to mention the much needed farming and grinding to be as prepared for a raid as possible. Coming prepared to raid and kill bosses has been a driving force for us, allowing us to be as efficient as we are.

2. Now that you've finally entered the top flight of raiding guilds (you finished world #16 in Tier 14, and world #7 in Tier 15), has anything changed for you? Do people treat you differently?

Gondlem: More people know the guild name than when we were US 250th in Sunwell, that's for sure. I guess the main difference is just that people pay attention to our rank during the progression race, and I'll get level 1s whispering me asking how close we are on a certain boss if we're not streaming it, that sort of thing. Overall we're still a bit behind the world first competitors so I don't think we get anything like the attention those guilds do.

Euphonious: There definitely has been a change for our guild as we've climbed through the ranks. People come more and more often to our server to ask our players questions about their class, and when we que for LFR's or 5 mans people know who we are, congratulate us, etc. It's definitely become apparent that people know who we are and have respect for what we do in the WoW community.

Slootbag: I suppose there has been a larger spotlight cast on us now, but that just comes with the territory of higher rank. There is indeed a new found pressure now to perform better and improve or maintain our rank. Since the public eye is more focused on us, we have to be more careful with how we handle ourselves, and how we perform in raids as well, while still maintaining the laid back but intense attitude we have always had. While this doesn't essentially change us in any way, it's something that is in the back of our mind at times. We, much like anyone else in this game, don't get any special treatment. Perhaps people are bit nicer to us here and there, but nothing is served to us on a silver platter, at least yet (maybe one day).

3. Despite your impressive climb, you're still below other guilds like Method and Blood Legion. What does the future hold for you in this regard? Will you be pushing on to challenge the top spots?

Dpsonroids: We're doing all that we can during the downtime to give us any sort of competitive edge for the next tier, i.e heavier emphasis on alt play, while also doing our best to stagnate any potential burnout from our raiders. Method and Blood Legion look to be especially strong as always, the nasty speed of Method's Lei Shen kill was extremely impressive to say the least. I gotta give respect to both of these guilds, I've always rooted for BL as "The Great White Hope" of the US raiding scene haha and people in Method seem to be really chill. We will try to compete with them in whatever way we can, but obviously they are really good and have a much more hardcore progression raiding schedule than us and that's not likely to change any time soon.

Gondlem: Not really, no. Those guilds are on another level in terms of their commitment, and they kill stuff well before we do. We'll definitely try our best, and you never know what can happen, but we're not aiming for world first or anything. We'll just keep doing what we do on our own schedule and aim to improve our rank if the opportunity arises, like it did this tier with Lei Shen which was a tough boss that took its toll on a lot of guilds.

Slootbag: Midwinter has never been (and for now will not be) competing for World Firsts. The extra time commitment (among other things) is something we just aren't prepared to move forward with. We've always been a guild that prides itself on raiding less hours than competitors in our range, but providing equal if not better results, and that is a large reason as to why we have some of the raiders we do, as that is what they look for. It's going to be difficult sticking with our motto of always improving when we start to hit a plateau, much like we have now. Our philosophy will certainly be one for maintaining our rank and anything beyond that potentially will just be icing on the cake. But keeping our current rank will be no easy matter, especially with the growing need of new factors to compete at top levels, like excellent alt potential and play, and the growing presence of other guilds.

4. Which fight was the hardest one for your guild in Tier 15, and why?

Dpsonroids: Gotta be Lei Shen, it's the hardest boss since Ragnaros in Firelands and Lich King before that. I don't consider the fight a DPS/HPS check like Ragnaros or even some of the other fights of the tier. It's just pure strategy and mechanically very challenging.

Gondlem: Lei Shen was easily the hardest boss. There were a lot of difficult aspects to it, but more than anything else it was that there was no room at all for dead weight in your raid group. In the intermission phases for example, or in the final phase, all 25 people had a job they had to do, and anyone could easily wipe the raid by making a simple mistake. It was also a really strategically complex boss with a lot of decisions to make along the way. Personally I consider it among the hardest bosses I've seen in this game, along with Yogg-0 and Heroic Lich King, and it was great to get the chance to learn it before it was "nerfed" by meta gems, gear upgrades and so on. Other than Lei Shen I'd say Dark Animus, Durumu and Council of Elders were all really challenging fights at the time we learned them, making this one of the hardest ever tiers, with four difficult bosses in once instance.

Euphonious: From a healer PoV I think that Council of Elders gave us the most trouble in Tier 15. We were all undergeared, the fight had a debuff that basically took 50% of someone's health every tick without a cd, there was a ton of damage going out, and as the fight went on there was a stacking debuff on the raid that just made everyone take more damage. It was the first hard boss that we had to face and we were transitioning from our healing officer retiring from the tier before so it definitely stressed each healer but in the end we were able to kill it and it felt amazing.

Slootbag: Lei Shen by default was the (and therefore our) hardest boss of the tier, for the obvious reason of how well and tight its difficulty was tuned. If the obvious doesn't count, then the second obvious choice is Animus. Again, very tightly tuned DPS check and absolutely ruthless if even 1 person in the raid moved or played incorrectly at the start. The struggles on that fight were much like any other top progressing guild at the time, nothing out of the ordinary, but they were still nothing to laugh about, brings me back to my BC days *tear*. We also wasted a bit too much time on Tortos progression, but let's just pretend that never happened...

5. Individually, which fight did you find to be the most fun in this tier?

Dpsonroids: Durumu, one of the best designed fights I've ever done. The fights that are most fun are the ones with a lot of personal responsibility. The ones where the raid hinges on your ability to handle the mechanics, in this case it would be getting picked for the red beam control and the maze is something everyone had to deal with which at the time of our kill, a single DPS dead that couldn't be B rezzed was a wipe due to the insane DPS check so everyone had to play well. These are the type of fights THAT GET THE ADRENALINE PUMPIN!!!

Gondlem: Still Lei Shen for me. Never a boring moment while we were learning it. A lot of the time hard bosses end up feeling monotonous by the time you kill them because you've done the first phase 200+ times or whatever and it's just going through the motions, but Lei Shen was always fun, aided I think by the fact that each phase is quite short and has a lot going on in it so you're never just standing there mindlessly DPSing. The only thing I didn't like about it was Static Shock RNG in the final phase. It was frustrating to have it go on death knights or whatever and wipe because of it. Still a really fun boss aside from that, and a huge thrill to kill it as fast as we did.

Euphonious: I found Durumu the Forgotten to be the most fun because of how much was actually happening in the fight. Literally you're entire raid had to know what to do with each beam, not to mention the Life Drain mechanic that everyone had to soak along with Dark Parasite that required a strict cd rotation just to be survivable. As a healer though what made this fight truly memorable was the dps check that we had to beat because when you're doing a boss for the first time and no one has gear, especially healers, it tests everyone to be able to do a significant amount of healing while maintaining as much dps as possible so that you can avoid the 1% wipes. Any fight that requires you to go above and beyond is always enjoyable and Durumu tested everything from debuffs to be healed and dispelled, to moving while healing an entire raid inside a maze that would one shot you, to dpsing as a healer as much as possible while keeping the raid alive.

Slootbag: I personally loved Lei Shen, again for the reasons stated before (how it was tuned overall, and the diversity and epic feel of the fight). Aside that, especially as a tank, I particularly enjoyed Durumu, another well-tuned fight for its time. While it didn't particularly test all of your abilities as a tank/player, it certainly was fairly unforgiving when you 1-tanked it and missed even a few moments of your damage reduction uptime. To be honest, the tier overall was a lot of fun. Many new fight mechanics and fun encounters, I can't speak too badly of any fight, well, almost any...

6. And the least fun?

Gondlem: I hated Primordius. It was just a boss with a lot of annoying elements, frustrating mechanics and weird bugs. Things like the buff pools despawning randomly if you had too many of them down, black add spawn positioning being random and having a big impact on the difficulty of the attempt, a few random bugs that made the fight harder or easier than intended if you took advantage of them, and most of all accidentally getting a negative debuff because the boss got dragged over a pool and you didn't spot it in time as melee. Luckily it was one of the easier bosses of the tier so we didn't spend too long on it.

Euphonious: Tortos was definitely the worst fight of the tier in my opinioin because of how little there was to do as a healer aside from calling for a CD on the quakes. Spamming the tanks to keep their shields up and just mindlessly healing the raid to top up their crystal shells was not my idea of a fun fight, but on the bright side at least there were turtles to kick!

Slootbag: Primordius, period. This boss belonged in Cata.

7. At a high level of progression, success and failure are often determined by meeting DPS or HPS requirements. What's the last fight you remember where the biggest obstacle were the actual fight mechanics?

Gondlem: Going to have to go with Lei Shen again. There were DPS checks but they weren't the hard part of the boss really. Mostly it was execution with positioning for ball lightning, soaking bouncings, tanks moving the boss at precisely the right time, coordinating grips, stuns, roars... that sort of thing. Really though I think all the most challenging fights are a combination of both DPS/HPS throughput checks and mechanics. Durumu is a great example of this, and the second best boss of the tier in my opinion. You had a lot of mechanics checks in week one with handling light beams and adds, managing life drain correctly and doing the maze, but it also had a tight enrage timer and our first kill was exactly 10:00 in length. Any fight that is just mechanics or just throughput will be pretty easy for a good guild.

Euphonious: I think Lei Shen would be the best example of a fight where the mechanics were actually the hard part of the fight. There were definitely dps checks in each phase, and the damage that needed to be healed in the last phase was nothing to joke about, but the mechanics of the fight were definitely what made Lei Shen one of the best fights since Rag. Each phase required every single person to know what they were doing because if they didn't it was essentially a wipe.

The fight was designed in a way where you could do a whole bunch of different things and it required us to sit down and look at every mechanic and decide what would make the most sense. It definitely felt like an epic fight and it was awesome to progress on it because as you mastered each mechanic and got farther into the fight you were met with new mechanics that required a level of coordination that had not been required for a long time.

Slootbag: The nice thing about this tier is that there were several fights that had a great combination of meeting throughput checks along with not messing up your mechanics. Horridon add interrupts, Megaera add control, Ji-Kun platform assignments/teams, Durumu prism phase, Animus small add kill coordination/placement and Raid CD usage for Jolt, Lei Shen everything almost (conduits/phase transitions/bouncing ball locations/etc etc etc!!!), and of course Ra-Den's 1 mechanic to rotate a fatal debuff. So chronologically speaking, Ra-Den was the most recent so I remember it last, but really all of the above apply, what a great tier!

8. We've heard an unusual amount of complaints about how prominent class stacking has been in this raiding tier, and how having the right class composition was basically a pre-requisite for success in heroic encounters. Have you experienced this first hand?

Dpsonroids: The stackable classes this tier were warlocks and rogues for the most part with guilds often using 4-5 of each on any fight where they were strong. The most we used on any fight of these classes was two rogues and three warlocks since this is all we viably had at the time which can hardly be considered class stacking. This is something we are looking to improve on going into next tier with a heavier emphasis on alt play during the downtime.

Gondlem: I don't think class stacking was that bad, but some fights did have a compositional requirement for early kills. You needed good AoE that was effecitve on walls for Durumu for example, which basically meant elemental shamans and demo warlocks. We used 2 and 3 respectively for our kill. You needed multidot for Animus, you needed death knights, warlocks and immunities for Lei Shen, and so on. But I wouldn't say there's any fight where we felt the need to "stack" anything. I think the most we ever used of any single spec on any fight is three, like with warlocks on Lei Shen, and that's pretty reasonable in my view. A bigger problem than "raid stacking" was just that rogues and warlocks were really overpowered for the whole tier, and some fights certainly would have been easier if we'd been able to bring a bunch of them. Why have other classes when you can just have five rogues and five locks? But that's a different issue from raid stacking to overcome a mechanic, like mages on Spine for instance.

Euphonious: From a healer's perspective there were definitely fights where having the right comp definitely made the fight easier and Midwinter definitely utilized the alts of some of our healers [quite frequently] throughout progression. Most of the time you never truly "stack" one class for healing but there are obviously fights where having 3 or 4 of something can happen. A good fight that comes to mind this tier would be Horridon because we used 3 disc priests due to how outrageous atonement was along with Spirit Shell/Barrier and it definitely had a huge impact on our kill. The rest of the fights were pretty well rounded for healing comp but there were fights like Megaera / Iron Qon where Paladins and Shamans were definitely more useful.

The one fight where comp 100% mattered was Lei Shen because you wanted healers that had immunities, high mobility, and were capable of keeping hots up on the raid during the last phase. We used 2 resto druids that put symbiosis on our hunters for deterrence, as well as a monk and we were able to solo soak static shock, live through helm of command, as well as keep hots up on the majority of the raid in the last phase. The fight in the first few weeks was definitely well tuned and I think that our healing comp was amazing for the boss and definitely played a role in our World 6th Lei Shen kill.

Slootbag: I think the claim is slightly exaggerated. There are certainly fights where certain classes are favorable to bring, and having more of them at your disposal will certainly be very helpful such as Elemental Shaman and Warlocks on Durumu, but it is by no means necessary. That being said, I would be lying if some encounters didn't almost demand certain classes to have any ease of success, what comes to mind is DK/Warlock for Lei Shen, I'm sure you can fill in the blanks as to why.

9. Not since Ruby Sanctum in Wrath of the Lich King has a US guild finished a raiding tier in first place. To what do you attribute the repeated victories of European (and sometimes Korean) guilds?

Gondlem: The short answer is just that the best guild in the world happens to be European. Blood Legion are second, so it's not as though there's total domination by EU guilds. Actually I think of the top five 25 man Ra-den kills, three of them were from US guilds, which would be the best result for US guilds in general for some time. A dark period for US guilds would be something like Heroic Lich King, where the US first kill was world 9th or something. Historically I guess it's just that European players tend to be more hardcore for whatever reason, so the top flight of EU guilds have an easier time recruiting skilled and dedicated players. Maybe hardcore gaming is a more socially accepted lifestyle there? I couldn't say.

Slootbag: That's tough to say. I wish the answer was a simple genetics problem, but that's not the case. The top-end raiding scene in the US has questionably diminished more in recent time than that in Europe, this may (or may not) be a factor in EU success, as they have a larger pool of veteran players still going at it. Other factors could be time commitment, but to my knowledge BL and Method raid almost identical hours during progression. Perhaps it is the group coordination and chemistry that sets EU guilds apart along with the larger amount of top-end raiding guilds. There's no single right answer, the race is always fun to see regardless, and maybe we can bring one home for the US in T16.

10. You have graciously agreed to help us with our written and video raid guides. This is a fairly big undertaking for a guild in your position, since it involves giving us access to your strategizing, taking one of us along on your PTR and live server raids, and providing video footage where necessary. What made you decide you wanted to do this?

Dpsonroids: We try to take any opportunity that gives the guild more exposure as this correlates to more apps which helps sustain the guild. We also want to do whatever we can to help keep the hardcore raiding scene relevant and we want to make the leap up as accessible as possible.

Gondlem: I guess the main reason is just that we were asked and it seemed like a fun thing to do with minimal downsides. It's always nice to get involved with the raiding community a bit and help people out, and it creates positive exposure for the guild which is always a good thing. Since we're not really pushing for world first we're always pretty open with our strats - we streamed progression on the first 11 bosses of this tier, we stream all our PTR testing and get videos out when we can, that sort of thing. So it's not a big change for us, it's just a different way to publicise what we do.

11. How do you feel about the prospect of working with Icy Veins, considering that there are other websites around who provide similar content?

Gondlem: A lot of people in the guild knew a bit about the site, and it's a good resource that focuses on detail, which is really important if you want to be successful in raiding challenging content. A lot of other sites that have class guides for example try and keep things simple and overlook the things that really set a good player apart from an average one. When it comes to boss strats it's often the same, you can understand all the abilities but its the finer points of how to deal with them that will land you a kill. It seems like you guys want to give really detailed information, and if we're going to associate our guild name with guides it should be something fairly complete.

12. Do you think that the strategies executed by a top guild such as yours will be applicable to any guilds outside of the very best?

Dpsonroids: Strategies generally get easier to execute as DPS checks get less and less relevant through the gearing process or nerfs or whatever. Some strategies also require a specific comp to pull off. Oftentimes the strategies used by the top guilds can be emulated successfully, but you shouldn't be scared to innovate if you think your guild will have an easier time doing something differently.

I look forward to our collaboration and want to thank Vlad for having us. Also checkout our streams on twitch and guild at mwguild.net!

Gondlem: Sure. There are some things that don't matter as much once you have a bit more gear, like say life drain on Durumu which isn't a big deal any more but was really important for early kills, and different strats obviously work for different guilds, but most things will be relevant for any guild that wants to kill the same boss. Success in raiding is always just about understanding each mechanic and how they fit together to form a complete strat. Even if the specific way your guild takes on a boss or which parts of it are hardest at your gear level changes, the big picture of a fight usually stays the same. So I think strategies translate quite well to all levels of play.

Patch 5.3 - Hotfixes May 24

Sat, 25 May 2013 22:18:01 +0000

Battle.net

Patch Information

Classes

Paladin
- General
  - Divine Protection should now be usable while stunned.

Quests

Lighting the Way: Minimum level to start the quest has been reduced to level 89.
That's a Big Bug: Minimum level to start the quest has been reduced to level 89.

Creatures

Summonable bosses on the Isle of the Thunder King will drop their unique weapons more frequently.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Karazhan
- Chess Event: Medivh's buff to damage on chess pieces has been reduced to 100%, down from 200%.
- Chess Event: Damage from Medivh's fire has been reduced to 4k, down from 10k.

PvP

Big Zokk Torquewrench should once again be selling their wares to characters that have attained the rank of Legionnaire (Horde), Knight-Captain (Alliance), or above.

Battlegrounds and Arenas

Deepwind Gorge has been added back to the map rotation for Rated Battlegrounds.

Pet Battles

Battle Pets
- Unborn Val'kyr remembered that they can fly.

Items

Quest rewards from Path of the Last Emperor should now be eligible to be upgraded for Valor Points.
Fixed an issue where socket bonuses for a number of helmets were incorrectly giving a bonus to Resilience instead of PvP Power.

Battlefield: Barrens

Adjusted the pathing for southbound caravans being escorted by players. Those caravans should now stop before crossing into Southern Barrens.

(source)

Patch 5.3 Interview with the WoW Design Team

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:19:01 +0000

Last week, we were given the chance to ask questions directly to Greg Street (Ghostcrawler) and his team. The subject of the interview initially was Classes & Systems, but we asked a few questions about raid design and the Brawler's Guild, so eventually, the entire WoW design team pitched in to answer our questions.

We would like to thank all the people who provided us questions for this interview: Reniat, RM, Kennyloggins, Gondlem, Twintop, Dryaan, Leeds, Purge, Sonie, and various players in MCO.

Death Knights — What would you say to Blood Death Knights who feel that they bring very little to a raid in terms of useful abilities compared to other tanking classes (who bring abilities such as Stampeding Roar, Black Ox Statue, Devotion Aura, Skull Banner, etc.)?

Overall, we think the concern is fair. Blood DKs do have some useful group utility in things like Raise Ally, Death Grip, Blood Worms (which we buffed in 5.2), and Anti-Magic Zone (which we want to buff in 5.4). Blood DKs are still really popular raid tanks, probably second only to Protection paladins, who to be honest probably bring too much raid utility. We’re also asking ourselves if things like Skull Banner and Devotion Aura are too good abilities for tanks to have period. If a tank can bring those class abilities, then specs like Fury and Retribution have a tougher road in justifying their raid spot.

Except for AMZ, we’re talking mostly philosophically here. We have no specific changes planned, but want to provide some insight into the types of things we think about.

Druids — In 10-man heroic Throne of Thunder, it was difficult for Restoration Druids to keep up with the healing throughput of Discipline Priests and the utility of Holy Paladins. Do the proposed balance changes in 5.3 address this?

we did nerf both Discipline and Holy paladins in 5.3, but our suspicion overall is that absorbs are still too potent and prominent.

HoTs used to be the mechanic that provided some healing “cushion” and now it really feels like absorbs have shouldered hots away. We buffed Resto druids a little in 5.3 and we have plans in 5.4 to emphasize their hots even more, especially in AE healing situations, which have become the dominant way to heal raids. We’ll see what the 5.3 changes bring to absorbs and make further changes as necessary. We’re glad that 10-player healers are having fun playing their Holy paladins and Disc priests, but the shaman, druids, monks and other priests want to have fun too. Healer representation is much better at the 25-player raid level.

Hunters — For Hunters, picking their talents for Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 4, and Tier 5 is usually very straightforward, as there is one talent that is best in nearly all situations (in PvE). Are there any plans to make talent choices for these 4 tiers more interesting for PvE?

As we did in patch 5.2, we plan on taking a hard look at talents in 5.4 to redesign or tweak some that are underperforming or feel mandatory for all the classes.

For hunters specifically, Silencing Shot is a problematic talent. We agree it is very attractive to the point of feeling mandatory in both PvP and PvE, but we are reluctant to give it out to all hunters and allow them to choose yet another form of crowd control from the tier 2 row. That’s just a lot of crowd control.

So, we haven’t come up with a solution for tier 2 yet. The other tiers we think are easier to fix. Aspect of the Iron Hawk feels like the strongest talent in its tier, which goes against our design intent of the passives generally being slightly weaker than the actives, which require more attention and skill to use. Tier 4 feels better and has more diversity among PvE hunters. For Tier 5, we may have made the new Blink Strikes too good, which again as a passive, runs against our intent.

Hunters & Mages — Currently, Hunters and Mages are the only two classes that do not provide any unique raid utility cooldowns (Warlocks have a neat Demonic Gateway, Death Knights have Gorefiend's Grasp, and so on). Can we look forward to any new such abilities for Hunters and Mages?

Full disclosure: you’re not going to like this answer, but we didn’t want to skip over the question. The utility arms race is something we worry about a lot. Not too long ago, DPS warriors didn’t bring a lot of group utility. We added Rallying Cry and Skull Banner, which are great abilities and fun for warriors to use, and gives them something to think about besides just tunneling on DPS meters. Unfortunately, the consequence is that other specs don’t feel like they bring enough utility. We worry that Demonic Gateway and Gorefiend’s Grasp are too valuable in certain situations, such as the Lei Shen encounter. We’re also concerned that warlocks are just too attractive in raids overall – they bring great damage in nearly every situation, mitigate a lot of damage, and have some really powerful utility. Damage mitigation is the mechanic we’d most likely nerf, but it’s too early in the patch 5.4 cycle to talk about specifics.

So the honest answer to this question is that we don’t know. If we give a great new ability to hunters and mages, then 10-player raids or perhaps Rated BG teams are going to have to reevaluate which classes or specs they bring, and neither can fit everyone. We’re not improving the game if we give mages a transportation mechanic that is better than the warlock one, or even a survival ability that means the transportation mechanic is less important. That’s what we mean by the arms race. Is there a theoretical design space where we can come up with 34ish different forms of raid utility that are equally useful in most situations? Possibly, but our hunch is it would take a lot of iteration to find that space.

Hunters are universal buffers, which is really useful in 10-player raids. Mages have a lot of escape tools and the ability to survive near-fatal damage. Do those forms of utility rival Demonic Gateway? It’s reasonable to argue that they don’t. At this point in time though, both mages and hunters are still fairly common in all forms of raiding, and while that’s certainly not the only measurement of spec efficacy, it’s a good bellwether for when something is completely off.

Mages — Incanter's Ward is a very strong and interesting PvE talent for Mages, on paper, but is rarely used in practice. With Patch 5.3, you will be reducing its damage buff and increasing its duration. Are these changes meant to make the talent more desirable in PvE? If so, on which fights do you expect that Mages will take it?

We changed Incanter’s Ward in patch 5.3 largely to reduce PvP burst. It already wasn’t a super popular talent in PvE, so we didn’t think this change would have a big impact there. Overall, we do want to work on the mage level 90 tier. It’s interesting for Arcane, but too heavily tied to mana management overall. Depending on the solution we come up with, it could be too large a change for 5.4, but we’ll know more soon.

Monks — Chi Wave sometimes gets lost to irrelevant adds and pets. Would you consider giving monks more control over this ability, maybe through a glyph?

We fixed this for 5.3. Chi Wave now does “smart healing,” so it will prioritize injured players over pets. It can still be wasted on the wrong target, but it’s hard to predict which target players consider the right one to be. Overall, it’s still a really dominant talent and not in imminent danger of not being taken. Making it too easy to use might make the other talents even less attractive.

Monks — In 25-man heroics, Avert Harm has a high chance to kill the tank, even with Zen Meditation and Shuffle active. This can put monk tanks in a situation where they are reluctant to use Avert Harm to help their raid. Is this design one you are content with, or something you would like to change?

We agree with this concern. Avert Harm is a ultimately a trap for raiding Brewmasters. We could buff it, but related to the first question, we think Brewmasters have a lot of raid utility already and don’t really need yet another way to benefit the group. We might end up cutting the button.

Monks — Windwalker Monks lack a defensive or offensive raid cooldown. Are there any plans to add one?

We don’t think they need a new mechanic. They can provide healing, but it is currently at a personal DPS loss, which makes Windwalkers somewhat reluctant to do so. One idea is to make the healing less of a personal DPS loss. Another idea is to have Tiger Eye Brew benefit healing as well.

Priests — Following the Patch 5.2 changes to Tier 3 talents for Priests, Solace and Insanity has become the de-facto Tier 3 talent choice for Shadow Priests Are there any plans to change this situation?

Feedback on Solace and Insanity following the 5.2 redesign has been really positive overall, so we don’t want to nerf the talent. We can buff the other two talents, but in general we don’t want to declare it a design crisis any time there is talent which is fun and popular. As long as the other two choices aren’t terrible (imagine a slightly buffed Mindbender as an easier-to-use alternative to Solace and Insanity), we’re fine with it.

Rogues — The Tier 15 4-piece bonus for Rogues reduces the global cooldown of their abilities to 0.7 second (instead of 1 second). When this was introduced, you mentioned that you are "normally very reluctant to reduce the GCD lower than 1 sec" and that this "was very much an experiment". What are your conclusions on this experiment, after a few months? Do you intend to do similar experiments with other classes?

We always have issues with the server being able to accept input fast enough to support very small GCDs (say less than 1 sec or so). In this raiding tier in particular we unfortunately had some widespread server lag problems, which made it harder to evaluate whether the 0.7 second GCD alone made rogue abilities feel unresponsive. Our hunch is the low GCD solved this specific problem with tier 15, but we’re unlikely to do it often.

Shamans — Do you have any plans for major spell changes for Elemental Shamans in the near future (as opposed to small percentage adjustments)? For example, what is your take on giving Lava Burst a damage modifier based on crit (much like the Chaos Bolt of Destruction Warlocks) or on removing the cooldown of Flameshock in PvE?

We’re unlikely to change the Flame Shock CD. We might experiment with Lava Burst benefitting from crit, but we would have to nerf its damage to compensate, which would hurt shaman with lower crit chances. We’d rather find some other way to increase the value crit of the “when I crit, something cool happens” variety. Imagine that Flame Shock tick crits caused Lava Surge instead of just a chance on a tick. It may not be that specific implementation, but something along those lines.

Elemental overall is one of our more straight forward rotations, and we think it’s fine to have some classes who use fewer buttons overall. We are evaluating the feedback we get on Elemental Blast and whether the rotation feels fun without that particular talent.

Shamans — What would you say to Enhancement Shamans who feel that their AoE damage could use a buff?

Enhance has good AE but with a long ramp up time. While our goal isn’t to have every DPS spec tie in every specific situation, we do think we could shorten Enhance’s ramp up. We have one cool idea we want to explore in 5.4 as a tier set bonus that will benefit both single target and AE damage. We often use tier set bonuses as a testing ground for new class ideas. If it works out and players like it, that mechanic might become core in a future patch or expansion.

Shamans — Restoration Shamans shine at "grouped up" or "stacked" healing. When the raid is spread out, however, they cannot make proper use of Healing Rain or Chain Heal and many Shamans feel that they cannot compete with other healing classes, as a result. Do you share their concerns? Are there plans to improve their "spread out" healing?

Similar to the previous answer, we like for healers to use different spells and have different moments to shine. We think it’s a fair concern that Resto doesn’t heal enough when grouped to justify healing relatively less than other healers when not grouped. Furthermore, Resto suffers a little with movement as well, and those two limitations coupled with the paladin / Disc dominance in 10s mentioned above make Resto shaman less attractive in 10-player raids. Totemic Restoration has proven to be a problematic talent, and we’re considering replacing it in 5.4, so that is one area we could introduce something to improve shaman range. There are other solutions as well. Overall we like the niche, but agree it has gotten a little too narrow.

General — In the past, melee DPS were seen as having a significant disadvantage in heroic raiding. During Throne of Thunder, however, there are some fights where melee do very well, like Iron Qon, and others where they do really poorly, like Ra-Den. Are you happy with each having their own niche fights, or is it a goal of yours to design fights where both range and melee players will perform roughly the same?

Overall we like for there to be fights that favor different play styles. In Throne of Thunder, there are good fights for range and good fights for melee, and nobody is underperforming to the degree where it is widespread for guild to sit a lot of melee on one fight or a lot of ranged on the next. We agree in previous tiers that melee felt like more of a liability, but we don’t feel that way about the current content (but see the next question).

General — Does granting range players the ability to retain more and more damage on the move (as illustrated by the upcoming Lightning Bolt changes in 5.3) make it harder and harder to design encounters where melee DPS are not trailing behind?

Traditionally, the melee advantage was being able to do damage while moving, but now a lot of ranged are also good at movement. We could certainly go back in and prune a lot of cast-on-the-move and instant spells from casters, but on the other hand we know players think those abilities are fun and you can even argue that having to stand and “turret” as a combat mechanic feels a little dated. There is also a continuum here: casting Lightning Bolt while moving isn’t a big balance problem, but something like passive Kil’jaeden’s Cunning might be.

Rather than making casters terrible at moving, we’d rather develop a niche that melee are really good at. For example, we could emphasize that melee are really good at cleaving multiple targets, or they could be more survivable, or both. We are going to explore these ideas more.

General — In heroic progression raiding, a lot of raid leaders choose how to fill the raid based on the utility that classes bring (such as Warlocks for Demonic Gateway, Death Knights for Death Grip and Gorefiend's Grasp), and not their actual DPS performance (unless the fight is a brutal DPS check or a class wildly out-performs another). Are you concerned about this aspect, and the fact that classes with no unique utility risk being left behind?

Frankly, we think it’s awesome when raiders can focus on class benefits beyond just who wins meters. We also accept that guilds in the progression race have to use every trick in the book, because they are so far ahead of the pack that they have worse gear than the ilevels around which we tuned the encounters. Now, we don’t want utility to be the thing that guarantees a raid spot (because that just leads to an arms race as we mentioned above), but we also like it when you get to use your cool ability to help with your group’s success.

While individual raid leaders of course have their own opinions regarding which specs are valuable and which are wasted slots, overall we don’t see any classes that are just not brought to heroic raiding overall, and the specs that are underrepresented are those like Subtlety or Arms, where there are multiple DPS specs per class that play similarly and bring similar utility. (In other words, it’s more acceptable for most DPS warriors to raid as Fury than it is to not have warriors at all, but Enhancement and Elemental feel like fundamentally different play styles, so we want to make sure they are both brought to raids.)

General — Do you have any plans on giving more spells different effects in PvE and PvP (like you did for Warriors' Colossus Smash) to make it easier to balance a spec for both game modes?

Our answer hasn’t changed here: we do it as a last resort. We’re always open to suggestions from the community about which spells are problematic and might need this treatment, but overall we don’t view it as a silver bullet that solves all balance problems. Players still complain about how warriors perform in both PvE and PvP even though we have different tuning knobs for things like Colossus Smash. It wasn’t a panacea to balance problems, and given that there is both a design cost (it’s more work for us to manage two versions of a spell) and a comprehension cost (players have to learn two versions of the spell both for themselves and for allies and opponents), the benefit just isn’t there as a universal solution. For certain specific spells, like CS, it is less work for us to just have two versions of the spell than to spend weeks brainstorming a clever solution that balances both PvP and PvE, and it is worth the player learning cost to not have e.g. PvP balance concerns cross over into PvP and “nerf fun” in the name of balance.

General — During 5.3 testing, there was a rumor floating around that the patch was going to bring Tri Spec. This has been dismissed, but there is an even older rumor regarding a fourth spec being added for all classes in a future expansion. What are your thoughts on adding a fourth spec? Is it something the developers have ever considered?

This is going to be another controversial answer, so we ask players to really consider where we are coming from and not just try to dismantle our arguments in the hopes of getting us to change our minds. This is one of those situations (and we try not to have too many of them) where we are going to proceed very cautiously.

With tri spec, we wanted to make sure we were solving the right problem. What we realized a lot of people on the development team were looking for was a solution to having to remember how action bars were set up (several of us have done the “take a screenshot of each spec” thing). If you harken back to the beta of the original game, talent trees were added as a way to differentiate yourself from other players of the same class. (Now the solution didn’t really work for reasons we’ve discussed before, but it was a noble goal). Letting players respec was intended as a safety net against frustration caused by making a decision you might regret. In Diablo II, once you spent a point, it was spent forever, which was kind of charming at the time, but felt outdated as a design by the time WoW came around. However, providing that safety net wasn’t intended to undermine the entire goal of talents being meaningful choices that help to customize your character, and that includes choosing your character’s role and spec.

Respeccing was never intended to let you have every tool at the moment you need it.

In Burning Crusade, having to change your talent tree was a bit of a headache, because you had to make sure you spent the right number of talent points per tier. In MoP, it’s still a bit of a headache because you have to remember what spell goes on what slot on your action bar. Now imagine that we fix that problem as well. Now changing your spec is limited only by the relatively low cost of visiting your class trainer (rather than the higher cost of fighting the user interface). In fact, if we had the current MoP talent design in place with some system to remember action bars, it’s possible we would never have added dual spec in the first place.

Adding tri spec is one of those decisions that would be really hard to undo, so we want to evaluate really carefully if the game absolutely needs it before we do it. At the moment, we don’t think the game absolutely needs it. We know some players won’t like that answer, but at least appreciate that there are other players who share our concern that the game will be lessened by adding tri spec, and respect their opinions as well.

With regard to fourth specs, it’s an interesting idea that might bring some excitement to individual classes, but it’s also a pretty big idea in terms of the impact it would have on the game. It would require a lot of relearning for virtually every player who would have to understand what the new rogue spec did in a raid or what the new hunter spec did in PvP. We would have to add a lot of new spells and mechanics, and even things like set bonuses to support all of those new specs, and being honest, it would probably cause a lot of instability in the game as we iterated on all of those new spells to get things right. Maybe someday.

Brawler's Guild — When the Brawler's Guild was introduced, the Patch 5.1 Notes explained that the event would enable players to prove their skill. However, for higher rank fights, gear is just as important as skill, which prevents non-raiders from progressing past a certain point. For what reasons did you not use the same gear-scaling system as for the Challenge Modes? Is this something that you may consider changing in the future?

Our vision for Brawler’s Guild is something that you keep coming back to. A lot of the fun comes from getting past your personal “brick wall.” When you hit it, you can always gear up, then come back and exact vengeance. Our classes are better balanced against each other for group play than solo play. Allowing some gear fudge-factor makes tuning brawls more possible on our end. One spec might hit their brick wall at rank 6, whereas another might hit theirs at rank 5, but improving gear can help to overcome that rank. The alternatives might trivialize the encounters for some specs while making them nearly impossible for others. Yes, as a cost of this, non-raiders will lag behind. Their personal brick wall will come sooner, but they almost always have some options to improve themselves (which includes things like more reliance on consumables as well as just acquiring armor and weapons of higher item level).

Brawler's Guild — Patch 5.1 was released almost six months ago. On most realms, only a few dozens of players have cleared all fights of the Brawler's Guild (usually between 30 and 40). How does that compare with what you may have expected when you launched this event?

It’s about on par with what we expected. Brawler’s Guild was never intended to be a place for everybody on the realm. In fact, the gameplay suffers if too many people show up. Because of that, we never directly breadcrumb you there and the methods of acquiring a ticket are somewhat throttled or otherwise hard to get. In the same vein, there are no power rewards “forcing” players to participate in the content. We want it to have a discovered, niche feel. The rank 7 bosses were tuned to be difficult, but beatable with normal or heroic raid gear at the time of release. The “bonus” rank 8 bosses were tuned to be a little harder than our best playtesters could beat in the best gear possible. Since the 5.2 release, these bosses have started to fall much quicker, and that will continue with the new sources of gear in 5.3.

Brawler's Guild — Two new Brawler's Guild ranks are going to be released with Patch 5.3. Is it not a tad bit early, considering the small number of players who are going to be able to access them? Also, was PTR testing for ranks 9 and 10 satisfactory, despite the limited number of players who have progressed this far?

It’s difficult to tell from the question, but you might be implying that you have to beat the four “bonus” rank 8 bosses from 5.1 to advance to the next tier. That isn’t the case. They were intended to be very, very difficult and many have one-shot abilities that don’t even care much about your gear. Keep in mind the achievement was titled “Now You’re Just Showing Off.” Players won’t have to have defeated every 5.1 boss to move on to the new ranks, just Meatball. This is also part of the reason we added Challenge Cards. If you’re stuck on rank 5, two new tiers of bosses aren’t really exciting for you. However, there are 12 other bosses of varying rank that you can use to test your skill. Every Brawler should get something new. It would have been nice to get more PTR testing (it almost always is), but we typically don’t get as many volunteers for the smaller patches (e.g. 5.1 and 5.3) as we do for the larger ones (e.g. 5.2 and 5.4). We did catch several bugs from PTR results, and if we don’t say this enough, we are extraordinarily grateful for players who take time to participate on the various PTRs and provide us with feedback.

Regarding the last question, it is from me. I had not realized yet that the two new Brawler's Guild ranks can be accessed without defeating the 4 special bosses. The answer was interesting, so I decided to leave it like that, even though I make a fool of myself in the question ;)

Before we finish, we remind you that there have been other interviews by other fansites for Patch 5.3.

WoW Pet Battle Crew Cory discusses your favorite companions & more.

Wowjuju Lead content designer Cory Stockton on patch 5.3.

WoW Insider Lead systems designer Greg Street talks “Escalation” with Anne.

Legendary Greg & Brian hop on camera to join the “Legendary” WoW panel.

Convert to Raid Ion Hazzikostas talks about dungeon design, Throne of Thunder and beyond.

Azeroth Roundtable The Roundtable invites Cory for a 5.3 chat.

Arena Junkies Greg Street & Brian Holinka join Arena pro Vanguards for PvP analysis.

Patch 5.3 - Hotfixes May 23

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:45:05 +0000

Battle.net

Patch Information

Classes

Druid
- General
  - Thrash's periodic damage component can once again be affected by critical chance.
- Balance
  - Solar Beam and the Symbiosis version of Solar Beam's silence effect can no longer be reflected.
Shaman
- General
  - Elemental Overload version of Lava Burst should now properly deal 75% of the damage dealt by the Lava Burst that activated it.
Warlocks
- Destruction
  - Fire and Brimstone can now only be cast when the Warlock has at least 1 Burning Ember active.

Creatures

Elite versions of Quivering Filth should now have a chance to drop Half-Empty Food Container.

Pet Battles

Pet Abilities
- Blackout Kick should now correctly have a 100% chance to hit.
- Deep Freeze should now only stun 100% of the time when target is chilled.
- Fury of 1,000 Fists should now only stun 100% of the time when target is blinded.
- Surge of Light should now only stun 100% of the time when the weather is darkness.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Throne of Thunder
- Dark Animus
  - Anima Golems now generate more threat when attacking their current target.
- Durumu the Forgotten
  - Crimson Fog and Azure Fog should now properly remain visible after being revealed by cones of light.

Battlegrounds and Arenas

Deepwind Gorge capture points will now properly use the faction you have been assigned to when capturing mines.

Items

Champion's Purse should now always award a Champion's Seal again.

Battlefield: Barrens

Goblin Kor'kron Commanders' Throw Dynamite ability now deals 40% less damage.
Shaman Kor'kron Commanders' Crackling Fury will now only increase in damage by 50% each jump, down from 200%.
Warrior Kor'kron Commanders will now only cast Titanic Thunderclap when there are enemies within 10 yards.
Some Kor'kron Commander abilities will no longer target or affect pets and totems.
Fixed an issue where Overturned Caravans were despawning earlier than intended.

Brawler's Guild

Challenge Card quests can now be completed while in a raid. Note that credit for defeating a boss will not be shared amongst party or raid members.
Anthracite will now reset properly when a player dies or leaves the arena and can no longer be attacked by players spectating the fight.

Bug Fixes

Achievement: Waste Not, Want Not should now be properly awarded to players that satisfied all but the Cooldown Power-Up requirement.
Sound effects should no longer be cut out in areas with a large number of ambient sounds.
Fixed an issue where some sounds were not playing correctly during boss fights.
Fixed an issue where the raid warning sound was not playing correctly.

(source)

Patch 5.3 - Hotfixes May 22

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:07:57 +0000

Battle.net

Patch Information

General

Players that die and release around the Seat of Knowledge area will now be provided with a Spectral Gryphon (Wisp for Night Elves) or a Spectral Wyvern; allowing them to fly back to their bodies.

Classes

Druid
- Talents
  - Force of Nature: Balance Treant should be more responsive while chain casting. The global cooldown on their version of Wrath has been reduced to 0.5 seconds, down from 1.5 seconds.
  - Force of Nature: Restoration Treant should no longer cause their target to taunt enemies.
Priest
- Shadow
  - Vampiric Embrace should now split healing amongst multiple allied targets by the proper amount.
Shaman
- General
  - Healing Rain's area-of-effect now should cap properly at 6 targets.
- Talents
  - Conductivity should now split healing amongst multiple allied targets by the proper amount.
  - Healing Tide Totem's heals no longer require line-of-sight.
Warlock
- General
  - Demonic Gateway now should correctly gain charges while the Warlock is mounted or on a passenger mount.
  - Siphon Life should now heal for the proper amount for Warlocks that have the Fel Armor passive ability.
- Glyphs
  - Glyph of Nightmares will now properly cancel the water walking effect when the Warlock dismounts or takes damage.

Quests

Enemy at the Gates: Fixed an issue where players were unable to ride the War Serpent.

Pet Battles

Fabled Pandaren Pet Supplies should now always contain a Lesser Pet Treat.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Scenarios
- Secrets of Ragefire: Fixed an issue where certain situations could cause the Scenario to get stuck on Stage 3.

Items

Enchant Weapon - Spirit of Conquest is now soulbound.
Enchant Weapon - Bloody Dancing Steel is now soulbound.

Battlefield: Barrens

Kor'kron Commanders are now non-faction specific multi-tap for all characters that attack them.

(source)

Patch 5.3 - Hotfixes May 21

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:25:22 +0000

Battle.net

Patch Information

Classes

Druid
- Talents
  - Force of Nature now summons Treants that have 40% of the Druid's health, up from 10%.
    - Balance Druid Treants: Cast time for Wrath has been increased to 2.5 seconds, up from 2.0 seconds, and damage dealt has been increased by 25%.
Monk
- Mistweaver
  - Surging Mist will again properly grant Chi to the casting Monk when healing targets other than themselves while Glyph of Surging Mist is active.
Paladin
- General
  - Divine Protection should now be usable while stunned.
Shaman
- General
  - Fixed an issue for Restoration Shamans where Ascendance did not divide the amount healed by Restorative Mists among nearby allies properly.

Quests

Path of the Last Emperor: Seer Hao Pham Roo should no longer be overlapping with Lorewalker Cho.

Creatures

Galleon should now use the correct loot table while awarding loot.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Karazhan
- Chess Event: Increased the delay between moves for enemy chess pieces.
Scenarios
- Fixed an issue with characters not shape-shifting back into the correct race while under the effects of an illusion spell enabling them to participate in an opposing faction's Scenarios.

PvP

Conquest Quartermasters (Armsmaster Holinka and Roo Desvin) have been temporarily disabled while we work to resolve an issue with the Tyrannical Conquest achievement.
Big Zokk Torquewrench has been found by a search party and brought back from their extended leave of absence.

Battlegrounds and Arenas

Deepwind Gorge has been temporarily removed from Rated Battlegrounds rotation while we work to resolve an issue affecting base capture.

Battlefield: Barrens

Map markers for caravans that have been destroyed should now be properly removed from the world map.
Overturned caravans should now despawn properly.

Bug Fixes

Fixed a crash on startup for Macs with the GMA 950 chipset.

(source)

Patch 5.3 Notes

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:41:50 +0000

Patch 5.3 is about to hit the servers in the US and we will have it in Europe tomorrow. This patch is not bringing any new raid, but there is a fair amount of new content. For a proper summary of what the patch brings, we redirect you to battle.net and mmo-champion.com.

Tomorrow or the day after, we should have an interview with Greg Street (Ghostcrawler). Our questions will focus mainly on class issues, encounter design, and the Brawler's Guild. Stay tuned!

For the Patch Notes, keep reading.

Blizzard Official WoW Blog

5.3 Escalation patch notes are now available!
5.3 Escalation Round-Up: Get an in-depth look at the new content and changes taking place in this patch.
Patch Notes Archive: Find notes from previous World of Warcraft patches

General

New Battleground: Deepwind Gorge
- In the new Battleground situated in the Valley of the Four Winds, the Alliance and Horde continue their war for Pandaria’s precious resources. While the two factions battle for control over mines, they must also protect their own resources from being stolen and turned against them!
New Arena: The Tiger's Peak
- Gladiator hopefuls have a new location to test their mettle amidst the Kun-Lai mountain tops, in the training grounds of the powerful Shado-Pan. Players must make use of the looming tiger statues and fenced platforms to gain an advantage that will bring victory and glory!
New Scenario: Battle on the High Seas
- Help your faction fend off enemy forces in the midst of a battle for naval supremacy on the High Seas.
New Scenario: Blood in the Snow
- An agent of Zandalar has infiltrated Dun Morogh and rallied the Frostmane trolls. At Varian’s request, Moira will lead her personal guard against them once the king’s champions have stopped the magical storm protecting Shimmer Ridge.
New Scenario: Dark Heart of Pandaria
- Goblin engineers have been excavating in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms to find a mysterious artifact, but all they've found is trouble; you have been personally called upon by the Warchief to aid them in their hour of need.
New Scenario: The Secrets of Ragefire
- Infiltrate the Emberdeep Caverns and assist the Gob Squad in investigating a recent disappearance in Durotar.
Heroic Scenarios
- A Heroic difficulty for Scenarios have been added and are designed to provide challenging content for small groups of well-seasoned adventurers. Completing a Heroic Scenario awards Valor points, and a chance to obtain high level Epic quality items.
- Heroic Scenarios require a pre-made group to join.
- Heroic Scenarios offer bonus objectives that will reward additional valor if completed.
  - An option to run a random Heroic Scenario has been added as a drop-down in the Scenario tab in Dungeon Finder.
- Players can complete a normal or Heroic Scenario for bonus valor each day, but not both.
- Six Heroic Scenarios will be available in patch 5.3. Four are new and two are upgrades of existing normal Scenarios.
  - Battle of the High Seas
  - Blood in the Snow
  - Dark Heart of Pandaria
  - The Secrets of Ragefire
  - Crypt of Forgotten Kings
  - A Brewing Storm
Quest Campaign: Escalation
- The Darkspear Trolls are in open rebellion against the Warchief! Aid your faction in preparing to rout Garrosh Hellscream from Orgrimmar
  - Alliance heroes will scout Orgrimmar's outskirts and engage in SI:7 espionage to weaken Garrosh’s power structure.
  - Horde heroes will help Vol’jin’s insurgency survive a Kor’kron assault and advance towards the Horde capital.
- Visit Lorewalker Cho at the Seat of Knowledge in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms to begin questing.

Battlefield: Barrens
- Put the stranglehold on Orgrimmar by undermining the Kor’kron supply chain in Northern Barrens.
  - Collect resources by killing Kor’kron loyalists and their supporters.
  - Get a group together to kill Kor’kron leaders for bonus resources.
  - Escort your faction’s caravans across the zone for even more additional resources.
- The Darkspear Rebellion will reward your efforts to undermine the Warchief by helping you upgrade Latent Kor’kron Armor into useable gear.
- Participate in the Escalation Quest Campaign to learn how to engage in the Barrens conflict.
The Legendary Quest Continues
- Journey with Wrathion to the four corners of Pandaria to speak with the August Celestials.
- Champions will have had to complete Wrathion’s earlier tasks (including “Heart of the Thunder King”) to continue.
Brawler’s Guild Updates
- Test your might against two new tiers of bosses in the Brawl’gar Arena in Orgrimmar or Bizmo’s Brawl Pub in Stormwind.
- New VIP areas are now accessible for brawlers at or above rank 8.
- Bizmo has raised the floor in his arena to hide the bodies. Or... maybe to improve the sight lines. We’ll never know for sure.
- Special “Challenge Cards” can now be acquired from mobs or reward satchels, allowing you to unlock unique bonus bosses.
- Brawlers that manage to prove their mettle and reach Rank 9 will receive an additional invitation to the Brawler's Guild that can be traded or given to a friend.
Experience needed to increase from level 85 to level 90 has been reduced by 33%.

Classes

Healing abilities and spells which automatically pick targets now follow consistent rules for targeting logic. Targets with lower % health will be preferred, and players are weighted more heavily than pets.
Avoidance passive on all pets and guardians has been changed. It now reduces area-of-effect damage from creatures and NPCs by 95% (up from 90%), and from players by 50% (up from 0%). Warlock pets already had the new version of Avoidance since Patch 5.0 and will not notice any differences.
The following summoned pets/totems will now chain cast their spells with no delay between casts, allowing them to cast their spells more frequently in the same amount of time.
- Death Knight: Gargoyle
- Druid: Force of Nature (Balance, Restoration), Mirror Image (Symbiosis)
- Mage: Mirror Image, Water Elemental
- Shaman: Searing Totem
- Warlock: Doomguard, Terrorguard, Wild Imp

Death Knight

General
- Blood Plague no longer benefits from the damage increase granted by Tricks of the Trade.
- Frost Fever no longer benefits from the damage increase granted by Tricks of the Trade.
- Necrotic Strike's healing absorption effect has been increased to 225% from attack power, up from 200%.
Talents
- Gorefiend's Grasp can now affect a maximum of 4 player targets. The number of non-player targets that can be affected remains unlimited.
Unholy
- Sudden Doom now requires the Death Knight to be in Unholy Presence to activate the effect that causes Death Coil to cost no Runic Power.
- Unholy Might now increases the Death Knight's Strength by 10%, down from 15%.

Druid

General
- Mark of the Wild had its mana cost reduced to 5%, down from 10%.
- Symbiosis: Intimidating Roar had its cooldown increased to 90 seconds, up from 60 seconds.
- Tranquility now targets 12 raid members (up from 5) each time it heals when used in a 25-player instance. This change also applies to players using the Symbiosis version of Tranquility.
Talents
- Force of Nature is no longer on global cooldown and summons a single Treant. The Treant no longer has a control bar, immediately uses its special abilities on the Druid’s current target, and accumulates 1 charge every 20 seconds up to a maximum of 3 charges.
  - Restoration version of the Treant now casts Swiftmend on the Druid's target when summoned. This version of Swiftmend does not require or consume a heal-over-time effect on the target.
Glyphs
- Glyph of Solar Beam have been removed and replaced with Glyph of Omens.
- New Glyph: Glyph of Omens: While the Druid is not in a Solar or Lunar Eclipse, the following abilities will generate 10 Solar or Lunar Energy: Entangling Roots, Cyclone, Faerie Fire, Faerie Swarm, Mass Entanglement, Typhoon, Disorienting Roar, Ursol's Vortex, and Mighty Bash.
Balance
- Solar Beam is now more responsive when players enter and leave the beam's area-of-effect.
Feral
- Savage Roar now increases physical damage done by 40%, up from 30%.
Guardian
- Mastery: Nature's Guardian is now 33% stronger (2% per point instead of 1.5%).
Restoration
- Ironbark now has a cooldown of 60 seconds, down from 2 minutes.
- Swiftmend's area-of-effect component now heals injured allies within 10 yards, up from 8 yards.
- Wild Mushroom: Bloom: Healing from this spell has been increased by 100%, which includes all bonus healing from Rejuvenation overhealing. In addition, the radius has been increased to 10 yards (up from 8).
Item Sets
- Restoration PvP 4-piece set bonus now reduces the cooldown of Ironbark by 30 seconds (down from 90 seconds).

Hunter

General
- Hunters now have 50 pet stable slots, up from 20.
- Cooldown on crowd control abilities for several Hunter pet families have changed.
  - Basilisk pet family’s Petrifying Gaze now has a cooldown of now 2 minutes, up from 1 minute.
  - Bat pet family’s Sonic Blast now has a cooldown of 2 minutes, up from 1 minute.
  - Crane pet family’s Lullaby now has a cooldown of 2 minutes, up from 1 minute.
  - Monkey pet family's Bad Manner now has a cooldown of 2 minutes, up from 1 minute.
  - Porcupine pet family’s Paralyzing Quill now has a cooldown of 2 minutes, up from 1 minute.
  - Shale Spider pet family’s Web Wrap now has a cooldown of 90 seconds, up from 45 seconds.
  - Wasp pet family's Sting now has a cooldown of 90 seconds, up from 45 seconds.
  - Worm pet family’s Burrow Attack now has cooldown of 14 seconds, down from 20 seconds.
- Aspect of the Hawk now increases ranged attack power by 25%, up from 15%.
- Revive Pet now has a cast time of 4 seconds, down from 6 seconds.
Talents
- Aspect of the Iron Hawk now increases ranged attack power by 25%, up from 15%.
- Binding Shot is no longer a talent and learned by Marksmanship Hunters at level 30.
- Blink Strike has been renamed Blink Strikes and turned into a passive ability. The pet's Basic Attacks deal 50% increased damage, can now be used from 30 yards away, and will instantly cause the pet to teleport behind their target.
- Intimidation is now a level-30 talent available to all Hunter specializations and no longer learned by Beast Mastery Hunters at level 20.
Beast Mastery
- Beast Cleave now deals 75% of the original damage, up from 50%.
- Exotic Beasts no longer reduces the cooldown of pet special abilities by 30%.
Marksmanship
- Bombardment now increases the damage of Multi-Shot by 60%, up from 30%.
Item Sets
- PvP 2-piece set bonus has been redesigned. Using Arcane Shot now causes the Hunter's PvP Power to increase by 800 for 6 seconds.

Mage

General
- Arcane Brilliance had its mana cost reduced to 1%, down from 4%.
- Arcane Explosion now deals 40% more damage.
- Blizzard now deals 40% more damage.
- Dalaran Brilliance had its mana cost reduced to 1%, down from 4%.
- Flamestrike now deals 100% more initial damage. Periodic damage remains unchanged.
- Mirror Image creates copies that no longer cast Fire Blast, but their Frostbolts do 10% more damage.
- Teleport: Vale of Eternal Blossoms and Portal: Vale of Eternal Blossoms now have new icons.
Talents
- Flameglow now absorbs damage from each attack made against the Mage equal to 15% of their spellpower (down from 20%).
- Incanter's Ward now allows the Mage to gain up to a maximum of 15% increase to spell damage, down from 30%, but the effect now lasts 25 seconds, up from 15 seconds.
- Living Bomb's periodic damage has been increased by 121%. Its explosion damage has been reduced by 78%, but now scales with additional periodic ticks added by haste, and hits all nearby targets (up from 3).

Monk

General
- Legacy of the Emperor had its energy cost reduced to 1%, down from 6%.
- Nimble Brew now also removes horrify effects, and reduces the duration of horrify effects and fear, and is available to all Monk specializations (formerly only available for Brewmaster and Windwalker Monks).
- Spear Hand Strike now locks a spell school out for 4 seconds, down from 5 seconds.
Talents
- Ring of Peace had been redesigned. The ability forms an 8-yard sanctuary around a friendly target for 8 seconds, instantly disarming and silencing enemies within the area-of-effect for 3 seconds. Enemies that use abilities other than auto-attacks or cast spells on allies within the Ring of Peace will be disarmed and silenced for 3 seconds. Disarm and silence effects are subject to diminishing returns.
Brewmaster
- Gift of the Ox should now activate its effect more frequently for dual-wielding Monks.
Mistweaver
- Revival now has a healing cap of 15 raid members (up from 6) when used in a 25-player instance.
Windwalker
- Legacy of the White Tiger had its mana cost reduced to 1%, down from 6%.
- Rising Sun Kick now causes all targets within 8 yards to take an increased 20% damage from the Monk's abilities, up from 10%.
- Fixed an issue that caused ticks from Fists of Fury to sometimes be skipped.

Paladin

General
- Blessing of Kings had its mana cost reduced to 5%, down from 22.3%.
- Blessing of Might had its mana cost reduced to 5%, down from 22.3%.
- Devotion Aura now clears all silence effects when used.
- Divine Protection is now usable while stunned.
Glyphs
- Glyph of the Battle Healer now heals a nearby injured friendly target, excluding the Paladin, for 20% of damage dealt while Seal of Insight is active, down from 30%.
Holy
- Mastery: Illuminated Healing now places an absorb shield for 10% of the amount healed, down from 12%.
- Daybreak is now a stackable effect with a duration of 10 seconds, stacks up to 2 times, and causes the next Holy Shock to also heal other allies within 10 yards of the target for an amount equal to 75%/150% of the original healing done. Daybreak no longer incorrectly hits the primary target of the Holy Shock.
Protection
- Shield of the Righteous now reduces physical damage taken by 25%, down from 30%.
Retribution
- Sword of Light now increases damage with two-handed melee weapons by 30%, up from 15%.
Item Sets
- Tier-14 Holy Paladin 4-piece set bonus now reduces the cooldown of Holy Shock by 1 second, down from 2 seconds.

Priest

General
- Power Word: Fortitude had its mana cost reduced to 1%, down from 4.4%.
- Mass Dispel no longer dispels magic effects that are normally undispellable. Cast time has been decreased to 0.5 seconds, down from 1.5 seconds for Discipline and Holy Priests.
- Void Shift had its cooldown decreased to 5 minutes, down from 6 minutes for Discipline and Holy Priests. For Shadow Priests, cooldown has been increased to 10 minutes, up from 6 minutes, and the spell is no longer usable while in Arenas or Rated Battlegrounds.
Glyphs
- Glyph of Mass Dispel has been redesigned and no longer reduces cast time. The glyph now enables Mass Dispel to dispel magic effects that are normally undispellable.
- Glyph of Smite no longer causes the additional 20% damage dealt by Smite to transfer into Atonement.
- Fixed an issue where Glyph of Mind Flay's movement speed increase was not stacking correctly.
Discipline
- Atonement now heals nearby friendly targets for 90% of the damage dealt, down from 100%.
- Borrowed Time now reduces the cast or channel time of the next Priest spell by 15% after casting Power Word: Shield (was 15% spell haste).
- Penance now deals 10% less damage, but healing done is increased by 10%.
Holy
- Divine Hymn now targets 12 raid members (up from 5) each time it heals when used in a 25-player instance.
Shadow
- Vampiric Embrace now has a healing cap of 15 raid members (up from 6) when used in a 25-player instance.

Rogue

Talents
- Cloak and Dagger now requires the Rogue to be in Stealth. Shadow Dance will not remove the Stealth requirement for Cloak and Dagger.
- Shuriken Toss now deals 100% more damage in the initial ranged attack, damage is no longer doubled when used on targets farther than 10 yards away, and energy cost has been increased to 40 energy, up from 20.
Glyphs
- Glyph of Cheap Shot now increases the duration of Cheap Shot by 0.5 second, down from 1 second.
- Glyph of Garrote now increases the duration of Garrote's silence effect by 1 second, down from 1.5 seconds.
Combat
- Blade Flurry's damage to secondary targets should no longer be affected by Resilience or PvP power if the primary target was a player as both had already been factored in for the initial damage calculation.
- Revealing Strike now lasts 24 seconds, up from 18 seconds.
Subtlety
- Find Weakness now bypasses 100% of armor against non-player targets, and bypasses 50% of armor when used against other players (was 70% armor bypass for all targets).

Shaman

General
- Lava Burst now has a 2 second cast time, up from 1.5 seconds, and deals 25% more damage.
- Lightning Bolt can now be cast while moving.
Glyphs
- New Glyph: Glyph of Lightning Shield causes Lightning Shield to reduce the amount of damage taken by 10% for 6 seconds after Lightning Shield is triggered.
- Glyph of Unleashed Lightning has been removed and replaced with Glyph of Lightning Shield.
Enhancement
- Feral Spirit's summoned Spirit Wolves are now immune to root and snare effects.
- Lava Lash now deals 300% weapons damage, up from 250%.
- Mental Quickness now converts 65% of the Shaman's attack power to spell power, up from 55%.
- Stormstrike now deals 450% weapon damage, up from 375%.

Warlock

General
- Dark Intent had its mana cost reduced to 1%, down from 4%.
- Demonic Gateway cast time has been reduced to 3 seconds, down from 5 seconds, gains its first charge after 5 seconds (down from 13 seconds), and gains a new charge every 10 seconds (down from 15 seconds). The summoned gateway has 100% of the summoning Warlock's health, 100% of the Warlock's resilience, and can now be attacked and killed by enemy players.
- Health Funnel now causes the Soulburn portion of the spell to increase healing generated from Health Funnel by 140% instead of instantly restoring 36% health.
Talents
- Blood Horror no longer activates from attacks made by pets.
Glyphs
- Glyph of Siphon Life has been redesigned. Glyph of Siphon Life now heals the Warlock for 0.5% of their maximum health when Corruption or Immolate deal periodic damage.
Affliction
- Haunt now refunds a Soul Shard when it is dispelled.
Destruction
- Fire and Brimstone no longer requires a Burning Ember to cast. Instead, the spell causes Immolate, Incinerate, Conflagrate, and Curse spells to consume a Burning Ember when cast, and the effect remains active as long as the Warlock has at least 1 Burning Ember remaining.
Item Sets
- Warlock PvP 2-piece set bonus no longer reduces cooldown on Unending Resolve and have been replaced by the former 4-piece set bonus where the Warlock's Twilight Ward absorbs damage from all magical schools.
- Warlock PvP 4-piece set bonus now increases damage dealt by Agony, Corruption, Doom, Immolate, and Unstable Affliction by 10%.

Warrior

General
- Defensive Stance now decreases damage taken by 25%, up from 15%.
- Shield Wall's cooldown has been reduced to 3 minutes, down from 5 minutes.
Talents
- Enraged Regeneration no longer costs rage to use, instantly heals the Warrior for 5% of their total health, and healing an additional 5% over 5 seconds. Using the ability while Enraged doubles the healing effects to 10% of the Warrior's total health and an additional 10% over 5 seconds.
- Second Wind no longer generates rage when the Warrior is struck by a Stun or Immobilize effect.
  - Arms and Fury Warriors receive a passive ability that enables them to generate rage when struck by a Stun or Immobilize effect at level 56.
- Spell Reflection is no longer consumed by spells from player pets and guardians.
- Vigilance now resets the cooldown on Taunt in addition to its current effects.
Arms
- Sweeping Strikes' damage to secondary targets should no longer be affected by Resilience or PvP power if the primary target was a player as both had already been factored in for the initial damage calculation.
Protection
- Bastion of Defense now reduces the cooldown of Shield Wall by 1 minute, down from a 3-minute reduction. For Protection Warriors, this results in no net change to Shield Wall's cooldown.
- Shield Slam now receives a 50% bonus to attack damage from attack power (down from 100%) for Warriors below level 85.
- Unwavering Sentinel no longer increases the damage reduction of Defensive Stance by 10%.

Quests

Shado-Pan and The August Celestials daily quests no longer have a faction prerequisite to be Revered with the Golden Lotus.
A Test of Valor: Reduced the amount of Valor needed for this achievement to 3000 Valor Points, down from 6000.
Flames of the Void: Fixed an issue where players were unable to mount the War Serpents.
The Strength of One's Foes: All bosses in Mogu’shan Vaults, Heart of Fear, and Terrace of the Endless Spring now have a chance to drop either a Sigil of Power or Sigil of Wisdom.

Creatures

Creatures that are outdoors in the world and are Level-90 and above now have a chance to drop Lesser Charms of Good Fortune.
Rare spawns in Pandaria (except Zandalari Warscouts, and Zandalari Warbringers) and bosses in Battlefield: Barrens will now always drop Lesser Charms of Good Fortune.
Rare spawns in Pandaria (except those on Isle of Thunder) now have a chance to drop a bind-on-pickup invitation to the Brawler's Guild.
Oondasta
- Shiny Pile of Refuse now has a chance to contain a Primal Egg, and a number of Dinosaur Bones.
- Spitfire Beam no longer increases in damage with each jump, deals a flat 200,000 damage(up from 150,000 damage), and jumps to 99 targets (up from 20 targets).
Zandalari NPCs on the Isle of Thunder should now drop Zandalari Journals needed for the Zandalari Library Card achievement more frequently. The sell value of Zandalari Journals to vendors have been decreased to adjust for the increased drop rates.

Pet Battles

General
- Bonus damage has been added to many basic abilities, at the cost of slightly reduced accuracy.
  - Check out our blog: Pet Battle Accuracy Changes in Patch 5.3 for additional information.
- Pet Battle Duels are now available in all dungeons and raids. Enjoy!
- Pet Battles in the wild and duels are now viewable by other players in the world.
- Hit Chance is now displayed for all abilities.
- Battle Pet Abilities no longer have a base chance to miss or be dodged by opposing pets of the same level.
- Reduced the chance to miss when fighting higher-level opponents from 5% per level to 2% per level.
- A series of new achievements and rewards have been added for max-level matchmaking PvP pet battles
- Wins for max-level, matchmaking PvP pet battles can now be tracked in statistics.
- Battle pets' recent ability loadouts will now be saved when pets are swapped in and out of battle slots.
- Pandaren Spirit Pet Supplies now has a chance to drop a family specific rare Battle-Stone.
- Species specific Flawless Battle-Stones are now Bind to Battle.net account.
- Black Claw now deals 20% less damage.
- Blistering Cold had now deals 100% more damage.
- Corrosion now deals 5 damage-per-round, up from 2, and increases damage taken by 2, down from 5.
- Counterspell now deals 10 damage in addition to the ability's previous effects.
- Deep Freeze now has a 10% reduced chance to hit.
- Fury of 1,000 Fists now has a 4-round cooldown, up from 3 rounds.
- Haymaker now has a 3-round cooldown.
- Headbutt now has a 4-round cooldown, up from 3 rounds.
- Hunting Party now has an increased cooldown of 4 rounds, up from 3 rounds.
- Impale now has a cooldown of 3 rounds, down from 5 rounds, deals 17% less damage, and no longer deals damage as a percentage of the target’s health. The ability now deals a flat amount of bonus damage instead.
- Interrupting Gaze now deals 50% more damage.
- Interrupting Jolt now has a 4-round cooldown, down from 5 rounds.
- Kick now deals 50% more damage.
- Minefield now has a 5-round cooldown, and lasts for 9 rounds, down from 10 rounds.
- Mudslide now has a 4-round cooldown, up from 3 rounds.
- Predatory Strike no longer deal damage as a percentage of the target’s health. The ability now deals a flat amount of bonus damage instead.
- Quicksand now has a 4-round cooldown, up from 3 rounds.
- Reckless Strike now has a 1-round cooldown.
- Rupture now has a 4-round cooldown, up from 3 rounds.
- Shock and Awe now has a 4-round cooldown, up from 3 rounds.
- Soulrush now has a 4-round cooldown, up from 3 rounds.
- Fixed an issue where pet abilities that had a chance to stun were not working correctly.
Battle Pets
- A number of new battle pets have been added to the Throne of Thunder and Isle of Thunder. Happy hunting!
- Whispers from pet tamers in the north have spread word of an elusive new battle pet that can be found in the frozen tundras of Northrend. The Unborn Val'kyr awaits.
- Battle Pet drops have been added to Burning Crusade raids. These new pets can be obtained from raid bosses in Karazhan, Tempest Keep and Serpentshrine Cavern. Obtaining all of these new pets will reward players with a new battle pet, Tito!
- Tiny Blue Carp, Tiny Green Carp, Tiny Red Carp, and Tiny White Carp are now tradable, and can be caught more than once.
- Electrified Razortooth: swapped positions of Blood In The Water and Paralyzing Shock abilities.
- Ethereal Soul-Trader has been returned to his original, larger size.
- Teldrassil Sproutling, Withers, and Ruby Sapling’s Shell Shield has been replaced with a new ability: Ironbark.
Battle Pet Quests
- A new achievement and reward has been added for characters that complete every Pet Battle daily quest in a single day.
- Protection for bad luck streaks have been added to Battle-Stones from pet supplies bags and wild battles. Each bag or battle that does not provide a stone has a progressively better chance to award a stone to the player.
- Beasts of Fable daily quest has been broken into three separate chapters. Players can now choose to do any or all of the chapters each day. Rewards have been modified to include a new consumable that will boost battle pet XP for a limited time.
- All Pet Battle daily quests on Pandaria, Beasts of Fable and Spirit Tamer quests will now award experience, valor, and Lesser Charms of Good Fortune.
- All Pet Battle quests will now award experience.
- Increased the difficulty of elite pets on the Beasts of Fable quest.
- A new weekly quest for max-level, matchmaking PvP pet battles has been added.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Loot Specialization
- Players can now choose to receive loot for specializations other than the one that's currently active. This feature can be accessed by right-clicking on the character portrait and selecting the option from the drop-down list. Loot specialization is available for bonus rolls, Raid Finder, Heroic Scenarios, and Mists of Pandaria quest rewards.
  - Please check out the blog: Patch 5.3 Adds Off-Spec Loot and Rewards for an in-depth explanation of how the Loot Specialization system will work.
Raids
- Bonus rolls, Treasures of the Thunder King, Amber Encased Treasure Pouch, Cache of Mogu Riches, and Dividends of the Everlasting Spring now have a small chance to award a larger than usual amount of gold.
- Bonus Roll
  - Protection for bad luck streaks have been added to bonus rolls. Each bonus roll that does not provide loot has a progressively better chance to award loot to the player.
  - Reduced the number of Lesser Charms of Good Fortune needed for the Mogu Runes of Fate weekly quest to 50, down from 90.
- Serpentshrine Cavern
  - For the Fathom-Lord Karathress encounter, Cataclysmic Bolt now deals 10% of the target's maximum health plus 5000 damage, down from 50% of target's maximum health, the stun effect can be removed by abilities that free the player from stuns, and the spell now targets any character class instead of only targeting character classes with mana.
  - Lady Vashj
    - Coilfang Strider's Panic ability now activates every 4 seconds, up from every 2 seconds.
    - Shock Blast's stun effect can now be removed by abilities that free the player from stuns.
    - Tainted Elementals now despawn after 20 seconds, up from 15 seconds.
- Tempest Keep
  - For the High Astromancer Solarian encounter, Nether Scryer's Domination spell now has a 2 second cast time, up from instant cast, and can be silenced.
  - For the Void Reaver encounter, the radius for Arcane Orb has been reduced to 15 yards, down from 20 yards.
- Terrace of Endless Spring
  - Players no longer need to have defeated Grand Empress Shek'zeer to enter the Terrace of Endless Spring in Normal difficulty.
- Throne of Thunder
  - Valor Points are awarded for defeating the following lieutenants in Throne of Thunder.
    - Stormbringer Draz'kil: 20 Valor Points
    - Manchu: 10 Valor Points each
    - Weisheng: 10 Valor Points each
    - Eternal Guardian: 5 Valor Points each
  - Horridon
    - Amani’shi Beast Shaman no longer casts Chain Lightning while mounted on Amani Warbears.
  - Primordius
    - The Genetically Unmodified Organism achievement has been redesigned. It now requires players to defeat Primordius while none of the players in the raid received a harmful mutation.
Dungeons
- Completing the Challenge mode daily quest now awards a Heroic Cache of Treasures with a chance to contain an epic item!
- Minimum level requirement to enter and equip items found in the following dungeons via Dungeon Finder have been adjusted.
  - Gate of the Setting Sun is now available in Normal difficulty, and accessible to level 89 characters.
  - Grim Batol is now accessible at level 84, down from level 85.
  - Lost City of the Tol'vir is now accessible at level 84, down from level 85.
  - Magisters' Terrace is now accessible at level 68, down from level 70.
  - The Mechanar is now accessible at level 68, down from level 70.
- Zul'Gurub
  - Bloodlord Mandokir will no longer use Decapitate against his current target.
Scenarios
- Lorewalker Cho now allows heroes to take part in either faction's Scenarios, so players can see what the other side has been up to.
- Crypt of the Forgotten Kings
  - Fixed an issue where Uncontrolled Anger was improperly causing characters to drop out of stealth.

PvP

A blog titled: PvP Gear in Patch 5.3 has additional information and reasoning behind the PvP changes in 5.3.
All characters now have a base Resilience of 65%.
Battle Fatigue now reduces the amount of healing and absorbs by 45%, up from 30%.
PvP Power conversion ratio to obtain 1% damage at level 90 has been changed from 265 to 400.
PvP Power bonus to healing is now based on class and specialization.
- Healing specializations receive a 100% bonus to healing from PvP Power.
- Damage specializations for Druids, Monks, Paladins, Priests, and Shamans receive a 70% bonus to healing from PvP Power.
- All other specializations and classes (including tanking) receive a 40% bonus to healing from PvP Power.
PvP Items
- Season 13 Tyrannical gear had their item levels increased to ilevel 496, up from ilevel 493. Weapons and shields/off-hand items remain unchanged at ilevel 498.
- Season 13 Tyrannical Elite gear had their item levels decreased to ilevel 496, down from ilevel 512.
- Resilience has been removed from most PvP gear.
  - Resilience gems and enchants will continue to be available.
  - 4-piece PvP set bonus for all Season 12 and 13 armor sets that granted 1000 Resilience now grants 1000 PvP Power instead.
- PvP Power will remain exclusively on PvP gear.
- The amount of PvP Power and Resilience on gems and Mystic Cogwheel have been reduced by 50%.
- Tyrannical weapons no longer have a conquest-earned prerequisite to purchase them.
- Glorious Tyranny weapon enchantment now grants 600 PvP Power instead of 400 PvP Power and 200 Resilience.
- New weapon enchantment: Bloody Dancing Steel is functionally equivalent to Dancing Steel, shares the same visual effect as Glorious Tyranny, costs a scroll of the base enchant, and requires a 2200 rating.
- New weapon enchantment: Spirit of Conquest is functionally equivalent to Jade Spirit, shares the same visual effect as Glorious Tyranny, costs a scroll of the base enchant, and requires a 2200 rating.
- Tyrannical Gladiator’s Tabard and Tyrannical Gladiator’s Greatcloak are available as new prestige items at 2500 rating for 1000 Conquest Points.
- Big Zokk Torquewrench has returned from their leave of absence.
- Glorious Conquest Quartermasters (Acon Deathwielder, Ethan Natice) have returned after refitting their wares.

Battlegrounds and Arenas

Battlegrounds, Rated Battlegrounds, and Arenas now have an ilevel cap. All gear will be scaled down to ilevel 496.
To facilitate a more balanced team composition, players now need to select a role when queuing up for a Battleground or Rated Battleground. Role selection should have no effect on queue times. The matchmaking system attempts to balance the number of healers on each team based on the ratio of healers and non-healers queued.
Mid-season catch-up for Conquest Points has been added. Players will now see their cap on Conquest Points increased by 1000 per week since the start of Season 13 minus the amount of Conquest Points earned so far in this season.
Picking up the Alliance or Horde flag while in a Rated Battleground now increases damage taken by 50% for characters in a tanking specialization, and increases damage taken by 20% for characters in a non-tanking specialization.
Dalaran Arena: Masons of Dalaran have been hard at work installing steps in the two remaining corners of the arena.
Eye of the Storm: The starting platforms have been lowered.

Professions

Herbalists of low skill can now pick herbs in Pandaria for a small amount of usable material. The yield an herbalist will be able to harvest from each node is determined by skill level.
Miners of low skill can now mine mineral deposits in Pandaria for a small amount of usable material. The yield a miner will be able to harvest from each node is determined by skill level.

Items

The Voidbinders are back in capital cities and shrines.
- PvE Item Upgrades
  - Items upgradable by Valor now require 250 Valor to upgrade per 4 item levels, for a total of 500 Valor for 8 item levels per item. This is retroactive to all items that use Valor.
  - Items upgradable by Justice now require 750 Justice to upgrade per 8 item levels, for a total of 750 Justice for 8 item levels per item. This is retroactive to all items that use Justice.
- PvP Item Upgrades
  - Malevolent Gladiator’s Conquest (Season 12) items that have upgrades available are still upgradable at their original costs.
  - Dreadful Gladiator’s Honor (Season 12) items that have upgrades available are still upgradable at their original costs.
  - No other PvP items are upgradable.
Players can now use items that are in the bank or Void Storage for transmogrification.
Reduced the amount of Justice, Honor, and Darkmoon Faire tickets needed to upgrade heirloom items by 60%.
Players starting on Cataclysm content can purchase level-80 gear from Iris Moonweaver in Hyjal and Erunak in Vashj'ir to more easily qualify for Blackrock Caverns and Abyssal Maw: Throne of Tides.
Two new purchasable items using Elder Charms of Good Fortune have been added to the quartermasters on the Isle of Thunder.
- An Empty Supply Crate that can be placed and jumped on in the Troves of the Thunder King Scenario.
- Excess Elder Charms of Good Fortune can be used to purchase an Arcane Trove/Sunreaver Bounty.
A new achievement and reward has been added for obtaining 200 mounts.
Unclaimed Black Market Containers are now available on the Black Market Auction House. What's inside? It's a mystery! When opened, the container has a chance to contain any item that can be available on the BMAH.
Eye of the Black Prince can now be used to apply a prismatic socket on Reborn weapons.
Justice Heirloom vendors now have Heirloom shields in stock.
Kirin Tor and Sunreaver Beacons are now usable from inside the Throne of Thunder.
Shado-Pan Assault belts now require Friendly reputation to purchase, down from Revered.
Shado-Pan Assault chest pieces now require Honored reputation to purchase, down from Revered.
The following PvP trinkets now have a cooldown of 2 minutes, down from 5 minutes.
- Bequeathed Insignia of the Alliance
- Bequeathed Insignia of the Horde
- Inherited Insignia of the Alliance
- Inherited Insignia of the Horde
- Inherited Mark of Tyranny
- Insignia of the Alliance
- Insignia of the Horde
The following trinkets have on-use effects reduced by 33%, but have a 100% increase to duration when used in a Battleground or Arena.
- Fabled Feather of Ji-Kun
- Renataki’s Soul Charm
- Steadfast Talisman of the Shado-Pan Assault
- Wushoolay’s Final Choice
The following trinkets have on-use effects reduced by 75%, but have a 400% increase to duration when used in a Battleground or Arena.
- Delicate Vial of the Sanguinaire
- Gaze of the Twins
- Primordius’ Talisman of Rage
- Talisman of Bloodlust
All other trinkets above ilevel 502 have on-use effects reduced by 50%, but have a 100% increase to duration when used in a Battleground or Arena.
Courageous Primal Diamond had its clearcasting effect renamed to “Lucidity” to differentiate it from other spells with that name.

UI

In-game support system is now a direct portal to the Battle.net Support site, allowing players to access the knowledge base and support contact system.
Dungeon Journal has been reorganized. The model view has moved into a sub-tab and replaced with a listing of bosses for the dungeon or raid.
A new option to display pet tamers on the world map has been added. This should help players looking to find unlocked Pet Battle daily quests.
When using name plates, castbars will now display for all creatures and players in the area.

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue in Brawl'gar Arena where players boarding The Skybag may be unable to spectate brawls that were taking place.

(source)

Blizzard Insider #48 - 5.3 Interview with Tom Chilton

Sat, 18 May 2013 20:16:29 +0000

Blizzard Official WoW Blog

In Patch 5.3: Escalation, players fight back against the aggressive reign of Garrosh Hellscream, once proud War Chief of the Horde. His crimes are many and his allies are dwindling, but he still holds the Horde capital city of Orgrimmar and retains full command of a vast army of loyal Kor’kron elite soldiers, fed by reinforced supply lines running throughout the Barrens.

Toppling the tyrant will not be easy.

To prepare you for this monumental struggle, the Blizzard Insider discussed the content in Escalation with Game Director Tom Chilton.

Blizzard Insider: Before we dive into the details of Patch 5.3, can you tell us about how the previous patch, 5.2: Rise of the Thunder King, has gone?

Tom Chilton: Overall we’re very happy with how the Thunder King raid turned out. I think it ranks among our best ever as far as size, scope, and overall quality of raid mechanics goes. Lei Shen in particular stood out as a great final encounter for the raid, on par with Yogg-Saron or Ragnaros. One of the more experimental aspects of the Thunder King patch that we’re especially happy with is the Determination buff, which gives all Raid Finder group members a 5% boost whenever they wipe. Raid Finder groups tend to have players of all skill levels, so this change has really helped these groups hold together and learn the mechanics of more difficult encounters, which overall has made Raid Finder groups a more viable option for progression.

Blizzard Insider: How does Escalation fit into the larger story arc for Mists of Pandaria®?

Tom Chilton: Patch 5.3 tells the story of what’s been happening on the Kalimdor home front while the continent of Pandaria was being explored across the South Seas. As the name implies, the core conflict revolves around Garrosh Hellscream and his escalating war efforts. Of course, the Alliance opposes Garrosh—for obvious reasons—but now even large factions of the Horde have turned on Garrosh as well. They’ve grown tired of his constant warmongering, and so Vol’jin leads the Darkspear trolls in open rebellion against their former war chief. Garrosh seems to be universally despised, so now players on both sides of the Horde and Alliance will soon get a chance to take a swing at him.

Blizzard Insider: Can you talk about the new features being added with Escalation? What features are you most looking forward to seeing players dig into?

Tom Chilton:The new Scenarios constitute the backbone of the Escalation patch, and we think players are going to have a lot of fun with these. Another big change will be the new events in the Barrens. The main supply lines that feed Garrosh’s war machine in Orgrimmar run throughout the Barrens, so players must win victories there first before they’ll be able to take on Garrosh directly. From the design side, we want to use the Barrens events to experiment with end-game open world content in new ways and try to get away from some of the more repetitive aspects of daily questing. As a result, we shaped the events as a series of dynamic events, rather than a straightforward progression of daily quests. We hope this ends up feeling much more fluid and freeform than previous end-game quests, with players of both the Alliance and Horde rampaging around, raiding Garrosh’s supply lines and spoiling his war efforts. Plus, just having the Horde and Alliance together in the Barrens at the same time will open up a lot of opportunities for world PVP.

Blizzard Insider:Can you talk a little about the changes to PvP combat? In what ways do the mechanics of PvP evolve in Escalation?

Tom Chilton: One of the biggest evolutions in PvP stems from the changes to the Resilience system. Mechanically speaking, Resilience stays much the same as before, but most of it has been removed from gear, and instead players are getting a much higher innate level of Resilience. Gear still matters in PvP, and certain gems and enchants will retain bonuses to Resilience, but the overall survivability difference between players with different sets of gear is narrower after patch 5.3. This means player skill plays a larger role in determining the outcome of a PvP battle than before. Plus, the Resilience change has the secondary benefit of allowing PvE players to cross over more easily into PvP, since they won’t have to first collect a separate set of Resilience gear in order to survive.

Blizzard Insider: How about new PvP content?

Tom Chilton:On the PvP content side, we’re also adding a new Battleground and a new Arena with Patch 5.3. The Battleground is called Deepwind Gorge and it features a “gold grab” mechanic, where both factions race to collect a certain threshold of gold for their side. Players can get gold in two ways, either gradually over time by holding key strategic points around the mining operations, or they can steal a gold cart from the other team’s base and drag it back to their own base. So Deepwind Gorge essentially combines classic “king of the hill” with “capture the flag” PvP mechanics. The new Arena is called the Tigers’ Peak, and it experiments with the concept of “high ground” in an interesting new way. The Arena geometry includes several raised pillars, the tops of which are ringed with fences. These fences do not block line of site or ranged attacks, but they will catch any player who gets knocked back into them, thus enabling ranged players to hold the high ground and snipe or land heals from on high a bit more easily than they could otherwise with normal un-railed pillars.

Blizzard Insider: Can you go into details on the new Scenarios in Patch 5.3? Has the design philosophy of Scenarios changed much since they were first introduced at the beginning of Mists of Pandaria?

Tom Chilton:One thing we thought that Scenarios lacked after the launch of Mists of Pandaria was a sense of possible failure. Don’t get me wrong, they were always meant to be quick, fun, bite-sized pieces of content, but I think we can offer more of a challenge to players who are ready for it. So we’re introducing Heroic versions of several existing Scenarios, plus all the new Scenarios coming with Patch 5.3. Unlike most normal Scenarios, the Heroic versions will only be available if you’re already in a premade group with two other players. Since the difficulty will be ramped up, we wanted to be able to tune the Heroic Scenarios around a group of players who know each other and are used to playing together. Plus, since it’s easier to build a group when you only need two other players, rather than the usual five, we figured Scenarios are a good place to experiment with requiring premade groups again.

Blizzard Insider: Let’s talk loot. What kinds of items can players expect to find?

Tom Chilton:Players can definitely expect the usual Item Level upgrades. In addition, we’re also tweaking the loot system so players have option to choose which spec they wish to receive gear for [bonus rolls, Raid Finder loot, Heroic Scenarios, and Mists of Pandaria quests]. This means, for example, you can collect gear for your tank spec while you’re DPS-ing, or vice versa, which makes it easier to collect different sets of gear for your off-spec. In addition, on the art side, we’re also reintroducing the old world Dungeon Tier 2 armor sets back into the game as rewards for the revamped Barrens content. This enables new players to collect some of the older gear sets for Transmogrification without having to go back and farm the old world dungeons

Blizzard Insider: Anything else you’d like to share before you go?

Tom Chilton: Yeah, one more thing—another cool feature we’re adding with 5.3 is the ability to see other players’ Pet Battles, so you can conduct Pet Battles with an audience now. Other than that, we just wanted to say thanks again to our all of our play testers who’ve played through the 5.3 content on the Public Test Realm—your time and contributions are always much appreciated.

(source)

Preparing for Patch 5.3: Escalation

Wed, 08 May 2013 18:00:06 +0000

Blizzard Official WoW Blog

Now that the patch is on the horizon, we’ve narrowed down some of the key things you might want to know before the big day. If you want to find out more about everything that’s coming, you can check out the latest Public Test Realm patch notes, or even download and play on the PTR itself.

Be Prepared

Hold on to some of those currencies you’ve been earning over the course of patch 5.2. The gear-upgrading Void Binders are returning in patch 5.3, but it will be cheaper to upgrade items using Valor and Justice Points. Upgradeable PvP items from Season 12 will be eligible for upgrade once again at their original costs. In addition, Heirloom items will be cheaper to upgrade, whether you’re using Justice Points, Honor Points, or Darkmoon Faire tickets. We’re also speeding up the leveling process from 85 to 90. Here are the details:

The experience required to level from 85 to 90 will be reduced by 33%. Time to dust off those alts!
The Void Binders are coming back!
- Items upgraded with Valor will now cost 250 Valor Points to upgrade per 4 Item Levels, for a total of 500 Valor for 8 Item Levels per item. This applies retroactively to all items that can be upgraded using Valor.
- Items upgraded with Justice will now cost 750 Justice Points to upgrade for 8 Item Levels. They can only be upgraded once, for a total of 750 Justice and 8 Item Levels per item. This applies retroactively to all items that can be upgraded using Justice.
- Malevolent Gladiator’s Conquest (Season 12) items that have upgrades available will still be upgradable at their original Conquest Point costs (750 Conquest Points per 4 Item Levels, with two upgrades possible).
- Dreadful Gladiator’s Honor (Season 12) items that have upgrades available will still be upgradable at their original costs (one upgrade at a cost of 750 Honor Points for 8 Item Levels).
- No other PvP items will be able to be upgraded.
The amount of Justice, Honor, and Darkmoon Faire tickets needed to upgrade Heirloom items will be reduced by 60%.

Item Level Requirements

Are you ready to face the Raid Finder, Heroic dungeons, and new Heroic Scenarios? Make sure that you’re geared up to dive right in:

Heroic Scenarios require an average Item Level of 480; unlike normal Scenarios, you’ll need a pre-made party to enter.
An average Item Level of 440 is required for Heroic dungeons.
An average Item Level of 460 is required for the Raid Finder version of Mogu’shan Vaults.
An average item level of 470 is required for Raid Finder versions of Heart of Fear and Terrace of Endless Spring.
An average Item Level of 480 is required for the Raid Finder version of Throne of Thunder.

Lesser Charms of Good Fortune

We’re adding more ways to acquire Lesser Charms of Good Fortune in patch 5.3. In addition to the changes that took effect in patch 5.2, which reduced the number of Lesser Charms of Good Fortune required to purchase three Mogu Runes of Fate from 90 to 50 and allowed players to earn Lesser Charms from Pet Battles, these new sources of Lesser Charms will be available in patch 5.3:

Outdoor world creatures level 90 and above now have a chance to drop Lesser Charms of Good Fortune.
Rare spawns in Pandaria (except Zandalari Warscouts and Zandalari Warbringers) and bosses encountered as part of the Battlefield: Barrens quest event in Kalimdor will drop Lesser Charms of Good Fortune.

PvP Season Update

PvP Season 13 is still in full swing. We discussed many of the changes coming to PvP gear in our PvP Gear in 5.2 and Preparing for PvP in Patch 5.3 blogs, and the changes below are explained in greater detail there. As a reminder, the 7,250 Conquest Point requirement to purchase non-elite Conquest Point weapons is being removed with patch 5.3.

A number of significant changes are coming to PvP and PvP gear:

All characters now have a base Resilience of 65%.
Battle Fatigue now reduces the effectiveness of healing and absorb spells and abilities by 45% (was 30%).
PvP Power bonus to healing is now based on class and specialization.
- Healing specializations receive a 100% bonus to healing from PvP Power.
- Damage specializations for Druids, Monks, Paladins, Priests, and Shaman receive a 70% bonus to healing from PvP Power.
- All other specializations and classes (including tanking) receive a 40% bonus to healing from PvP Power.

Patching Smoothly

It’s easy to make sure that you’re ready to play when the realms become available on patch day. If you haven’t played in a while, one of the simplest things you can do is open the World of Warcraft launcher and allow the updater to download the latest available game files. If you use user interface add-ons, make sure you have the latest versions and that they’re updated and ready to go for the new patch. This is also a good time to update your video card’s drivers.

If you experience any patching issues, there’s a technical support forum thread all about patching that could help. You can also follow @BlizzardCS on Twitter for the latest support-related news.

Getting Additional Account Help

If you’re having an issue with your account, a number of resources are available to you. If other players are experiencing a similar issue, they may have already posted about it on the Customer Support forum located here, so that can sometimes be a good first stop. If you need more information or direct assistance, the Battle.net Support site will allow you to search through available solutions, submit a support ticket, or contact customer support directly.

A compilation of resources and information can also be found on the Customer Support forum, including information on in-game support, reporting bugs and cheats, submitting suggestions, reporting forum violations, and sharing forum feedback.

Good luck, and we’ll see you in Azeroth!

(source)

Win a Blizzcon Ticket

Sat, 04 May 2013 16:26:08 +0000

Good news everyone! We managed to get our hands on 2 extra Blizzcon tickets and we are going to give them away. The giveaway will take place on Facebook and you have until next Saturday to enter. At the end of the giveaway, we will draw two random people, whom we will hopefully meet in Anaheim in November

More information: https://www.facebook...228910107186452

Raid with Icy Veins Staff!

Fri, 03 May 2013 15:52:04 +0000

Tomorrow, you will be able to play with our Staff in two Open Raid events. Zagam, our awesome Warlock, will be your host for the US event and Vlad, our main guide contributor, will be your host for the EU event. More details: http://openraid.org/main/news/53

We plan to host these Open Raid events once a month. This time, both events are on Horde side, but there is no reason why we should not be able to host events on Alliance side in the future.

Catching Up to 5.3

Fri, 03 May 2013 12:17:43 +0000

Blizzard Official WoW Blog

There's a ton of content worth experiencing in Mists of Pandaria—but if you’re leveling alts or just looking to get to the highest gear levels to see the newest content, the “best” route is not always clear. We get a lot of questions on what to focus on, so hopefully this article can provide some helpful guidance.

Back in the Day

In the initial months after Mists of Pandaria launched, the primary method to gear up a new level 90 was to run Scenarios and Heroic dungeons, and then do daily quests (beginning with Golden Lotus and Klaxxi, and then progressing to Shado-Pan and August Celestials) to earn reputation to unlock the vendors that sold higher-level epics. Along the way, players would qualify for the Raid Finder version of Mogu’shan Vaults, and then eventually the Raid Finder versions of Heart of Fear and Terrace of Endless Spring, supplementing the gear they unlocked and purchased with Valor Points.

While all of that content, along with the original reputation vendors and associated progression, remains in the game, patch 5.2 introduced several new, more efficient ways to get a fresh level 90 caught up and ready to jump right into the Throne of Thunder raid.

Get to ‘da Island!

The core of the current gearing system revolves around the new Isle of Thunder, and the vastly accelerated rate at which Elder Charms of Good Fortune can be obtained on the Isle. Elder Charms are used for bonus rolls when defeating raid bosses from the expansion’s first set of raids—Mogu’shan Vaults, Heart of Fear, Terrace of Endless Spring—as well as Mists of Pandaria’s original world bosses, Sha of Anger and Galleon. By obtaining Elder Charms, defeating bosses, and using bonus rolls, you’ll receive more chances to acquire upgrades, helping you gear up at a faster pace.

The Isle of Thunder also offers other ways to acquire Elder Charms. By defeating rare-spawn enemies on the Isle of Thunder, looting a Trove of the Thunder King, or defeating common enemies, players can receive a Key to the Palace of Lei Shen (one per week, with a small chance at extras from the coffers awarded at the conclusion of daily quest arcs). Players can take the key to Taoshi in the Shado-Pan encampment located in the swamp at the center of the Isle for a chance to do a Treasure Room run. In these runs, players have 5 minutes to open as many chests as possible and make it as far as they can through a dangerous, trap-laden vault. These runs are not only a ton of fun, but can be extremely lucrative in providing gold and Elder Charms. Foregoing a race to the finish line and instead systematically opening every chest you can get your hands on will likely yield a significant number of Elder Charms—it’s not uncommon to emerge from a single run with over a dozen. Additional Elder Charms can be obtained by using Incantations that also drop from creatures on the Isle and taking them to the graveyard in the mogu ruins on the west side of the Isle.

In 5.2, we significantly increased drop rates in the Raid Finder versions of Mogu’shan Vaults, Heart of Fear, and Terrace of Endless Spring, so it’s quite possible to walk into the Raid Finder and have enough Elder Charms to use a bonus roll on every boss you kill (with greatly increased drop chances) for a tremendous loot yield. You can also run Raid Finder more than once per week if you have more Elder Charms. You won’t receive normal drops from the boss, but your bonus rolls will have a chance of rewarding an item.

Misc. Stuff We Couldn’t Think of a Title For

If you’re into PvP, recent changes have made PvE gear pretty decent in PvP, and vice-versa. Outside of sockets and set bonuses, you can get a bunch of Honor (or Justice Points, and covert them to Honor at the Justice Trade Good vendors in Orgrimmar and Stormwind) and buy Item Level (ilvl) 476 PvP gear to help fill in any gaps and help you get into the higher rungs of PvE content.

Like Sha of Anger, the world boss Galleon now respawns much more frequently. The world boss Nalak is also now accessible on the Isle of Thunder, and the Shado-Pan Assault vendor is selling a neckpiece for Valor Points with no additional reputation requirements. In addition, the Isle of Thunder factions sell an ilvl 476 belt for gold at Honored reputation, which makes doing their dailies pretty enticing.

What the Future Holds

In Patch 5.3: Escalation, you’ll head to the Barrens and participate in an uprising that will lead to the ultimate challenges in 5.4, and a variety of patch 5.3 content will award ilvl 476 to ilvl 489 items for participating in and completing quests. It’s important to note that the 5.3 world event will only be available for a limited time, as the story continues in 5.4. In addition, the XP required to level from 85 to 90 is being reduced by 33% in patch 5.3. If you’re looking to level and gear up alts, patch 5.3 may be a good time to do so with these additional options.

Between all of these sources, an adventurous player should be should be able to walk right into the Raid Finder Throne of Thunder within a week or two of hitting level 90, even without touching any of the mainland reputations.

Content ilvl Requirements

ilvl 440 required for Heroic dungeons
ilvl 460 required for Mogu’shan Vaults
ilvl 470 required for Heart of Fear and Terrace of Endless Spring
ilvl 480 required for Throne of Thunder

Your characters average ilvl can be found in the Advanced section of your Character stats in-game, or by searching for your character on WorldofWarcraft.com.

Gearing for Throne of Thunder

XP required to level from 85-90 reduced by 33% in patch 5.3

ilvl 440 required for Heroic dungeons. Quest rewards from Townlong Steppes as well as Dread Wastes will bring you up to 440. It may be worthwhile to begin these zones earlier in the leveling process

At 90 head to the Isle of Thunder and progress through the quests each day and hunt for a Key to the Palace of Lei Shen each week. The portal to the Isle can be found at the Shado-Pan Garrison in western Townlong Steppes

The Arena of Annihilation scenario has a mini-quest inside that rewards an ilvl 450 weapon

Key to the Palace of Lei Shen looted once per week from rare spawns, Trove of Thunder King chests, or by defeating common enemies on the Isle of Thunder

There’s a small chance for Throne of Thunder LFR gear to come from the chests after you’ve completed your run

Loot run provides Elder Charms of Good Fortune

Elder Charms provide bonus rolls when defeating bosses in Mogu’shan Vaults, Heart of Fear, Terrace of Endless Spring, as well as the 5.0 world bosses Sha of Anger and Galleon

You can run LFR more than once per week if you have more Elder Charms. You won’t receive normal drops from the boss but your bonus rolls still do have a chance of rewarding an item

With Elder Charms of Good Fortune acquired, and an average ilvl of 460, head into Mogu’shan Vaults, you can queue using the Raid Finder (default shortcut key: i)

Crafted PvP items (ilvl 458) can help get you over the hump into Heroic dungeons

Crafted ilvl 476 items (Gloves/Chest/Weapons/etc.) can help jumpstart you into LFR

5.3 Battlefield Barrens quests will award ilvl 476 and 489 items

476 belt is purchasable from the Isle of Thunder Kirin Tor Offensive (A) or Sunreaver Onslaught (H) for gold

476 Epic boots available from a quest received by killing Sha of Anger (loot Claw of Anger)

476 PvP items purchased with Honor can help fill in any gaps and raise your average ilvl with little negative effect to your overall ability in raids

Shado-Pan Assault ilvl 522 neck available at Neutral for 1250 Valor Points

Lesser Charms of Good Fortune can be exchanged at your faction’s shrine in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms for Mogu Runes of Fate. Mogu Runes provide bonus rolls for 5.2 bosses including those in the Throne of Thunder, and world bosses Oondasta and Nalak

Did we miss something? Share your gearing tips in the comments below.

(source)

Icy Veins Class Guides Just Got Better

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 20:58:46 +0000

We are very pleased to announce that we have recently completed the great labour of significantly improving the quality of our class guides.

We have always been dedicated to providing guides of the highest accuracy and quality, so we have enlisted the help of respected authorities and top players to review our existing guides and help us improve them.

Below you will find a complete list of those wonderful individuals who have helped make our class guides
even better, after which we go into a bit more detail about the process.

Death Knight

Blood: Reniat, the author of the Blood Death Knight guides on the Official Forums and MMO-Champion.
Frost and Unholy: Mendenbarr, a prominent theorycrafter who maintains Death Knight guides on Elitist Jerks.

Druid

Balance: Imsupersdw, one of the best Balance Druids in the world, who raids in Method.
Feral: Fragnance, one of the best Feral Druids in the world, who raids in Method. You can watch his stream on Twitch.
Guardian: Arielle, (@riftmaker), a prominent Guardian Druid theorycrafter and the main author of The Inconspicuous Bear (a very respected Guardian Druid resource).
Restoration: Celece, one of the best Balance Druids in the world, who raids in Midwinter.

Hunter

Beast Mastery, Marksmanship, and Survival: Kennyloggins, a leading figure in the Hunter community, who raids in Blood Legion.

Mage

Arcane, Fire, and Frost: Blatty, one of the best Mages in the world, who raids in Method.

Monk

Brewmaster: Sunnier, who maintains the most respected Brewmaster Monk resource site: Sunnier's Art of War.
Mistweaver: unpl, a Mistweaver Monk who raids in Paragon.
Windwalker: Gondlem, one of the best Windwalker Monks in the world, who raids in Midwinter.

Paladin

Holy: In the process of being reviewed by Atismund, who raids in Envy (25-man), and by Smirk who raids in Paragon (10-man).
Protection: Theck (@TheckPhD), the main author of Sacred Duty (a well respected, and arguably the most valuable Protection Paladin theorycrafting resource).
Retribution: Anafielle (@Anafielle), a respected Retribution Paladin who contributes to Sacred Duty and Morgeine, one of the best Retribution Paladins in the world, who raids in Envy.

Priest

Discipline and Holy: Jhazrun, one of the best Discipline Priests in the world, who raids in Paragon.
Shadow: Artzie (@Artzieh), a Shadow Priest who raids in Method and Twintop, a Shadow Priest theorycrafter from How To Priest.

Rogue

Assassination, Combat, and Subtlety: Dryaan, one of the best Rogues in the world, who raids in Envy and frequently stream on Twitch.

Shaman

Elemental: Leeds, one of the best Elemental Shamans in the world, who raids in Method.
Enhancement: Purge, one of the best Enhancement Shamans in the world, who often contributes to the Enhancement Shaman section of Totem Spot.
Restoration: Zetian, who raids in MCO, one of the most efficient 10-man guilds in the world, and Sonie, one of the best Restoration Shamans in the world, who raids in Method (25-man).

Warlock

Affliction, Demonology, and Destruction: Gahddo, one of the most prominent Warlock theorycrafters, who maintains the Warlock profiles and rotations in Simulation Craft, and Evrelia, who raids in ScrubBusters, and frequently streams on Twitch.

Warrior

Arms: In the process of being reviewed by Gondlemstyle of Midwinter.
Fury: Gondlemstyle, one of the best DPS Warriors in the world, who raids in Midwinter.
Protection: Sco, Guild Master of Method, and one of the best Protection Warriors in the world.

Initially, when we first started writing these guides, they were all entirely created by Damien and myself, based on our experiences with playing the classes, and on extensive testing and research. However, as our workload on the site grew (and especially as we finally completed our offering of 34 class guides), the amount of time and attention that we were able to dedicate to each guide dropped.

Given the enormous popularity of our guides, and large number of people around the world who use them extensively, we decided that we had to find a way to do better. So, we contacted experienced players of each class and spec, and asked them if they would be willing to review our guides, and offer any corrections or pointers required. The responses we received have been overwhelmingly positive, and after more than a month of intensive work on the subject, all of our 34 class guides are now reviewed and approved by either a prominent theorycrafter or a top player of the spec. The remaining 3 guides will hopefully receive the same treatment soon.

We intend to continue working with these people in the future, to make sure that the guides are always up to date (especially when new patches are released).

For the sake of consistency, we prefer to only have one reviewer for each spec (with the exception of healing guides where we prefer two so that we can look at both 10 and 25-man perspectives). If you want to contribute to a guide for which we already have a reviewer, then you are more than welcome to post in the guide's comments thread, or to e-mail us.

We thank you all for your support.

Patch 5.2 Hotfixes - April 22

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:18:20 +0000

Blizzard Official WoW Blog

Here you'll find a list of hotfixes that address various issues related to the recently released World of Warcraft patch 5.2. Hotfixes are updates we make on our end without requiring you to download a new patch. Some of the hotfixes below went live the moment they were implemented, while others may require your realm to be restarted to go into effect. Please keep in mind that some issues cannot be addressed without a client-side patch update. We will continue to update this list in the days to come as additional hotfixes are applied.

Patch Information

Creatures

Players coalesced from a different realm are now eligible to receive loot or use a bonus roll after defeating Oondasta or Nalak.

Quests

Mogu Runes of Fate: Reduced the number of Lesser Charms of Good Fortune needed for the Mogu Runes of Fate weekly quest to 50, down from 90.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Throne of Thunder
- Twin Consorts
  - Cosmic Barrage now summons 4 Crashing Stars (down from 6) on 10-player Normal, Heroic, and Raid Finder difficulty. 8 Crashing Stars (down from 12) are summoned on 25-player Normal and Heroic difficulty.

Items

Sinister Primal Diamond should now correctly have different activation rates depending on the class and specialization. In addition, activation rate for Fire Mages has been increased.

(source)

Live WoW Developer Q&A April 25

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 10:06:11 +0000

Message from Zarhym

Good people of Azeroth, lend me your eyes!

We’ll be hosting a live World of Warcraft developer Q&A open to the community on Thursday, April 25 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. PDT. Designers Dave Kosak, Ion Hazzikostas, Brian Holinka, Cory Stockton, and Greg Street will be available to field your questions about Mists of Pandaria gameplay and design, patch 5.2 and beyond. This will be a moderated chat on the Cover it Live platform hosted on the front page of our official site. Community managers Bashiok, Crithto, Daxxarri, Rygarius, and I will be there to filter your submissions for the developers.

We receive thousands of questions each time we host these events, so please be patient with us and bear in mind that we won’t get to every question. You can help by keeping your inquiries concise and focused on one topic per entry. Submissions that are well over 200 characters, or contain multiple questions on an array of topics, are much less likely to receive responses. We want to cover as much ground as possible and appreciate your assistance in helping us to achieve that.

We look forward to chatting with you on Thursday!

About the Panelists

Dave Kosak, Lead Quest Designer: As Blizzard Entertainment's lead quest designer for World of Warcraft, Dave Kosak oversees the development of all quest content for the game and its expansions, as well as contributing to the overall fiction of the game world.
- Prior to joining Blizzard Entertainment, Kosak was a co-founder and original creative director of GameSpy.
Ion Hazzikostas, Lead Encounter Designer: As lead encounter designer on the World of Warcraft® team, Ion Hazzikostas’s primary responsibility is overseeing the creation of the game’s dungeon and raid content. Hazzikostas joined Blizzard Entertainment in the summer of 2008 as a game designer, and his responsibilities have included raid boss design and implementation, class design and balancing, and maintaining the World of Warcraft achievement system.
- Prior to arriving at Blizzard, he worked as an attorney at a law firm in Washington, DC.
- In his spare time, Hazzikostas enjoys exploring Southern California in search of craft beer. Having grown up in New York City, he is a lifelong Yankees fan.
Brian Holinka, Senior PvP Game Designer: As a senior game designer on Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft® team, Brian Holinka focuses exclusively on continuing to make the World of Warcraft PvP experience enjoyable for all of its players. Holinka works with the systems and content teams to create a balanced competitive environment with exciting rewards and diverse content.
- Prior to joining Blizzard Entertainment in 2012, Holinka worked on the multiplayer components of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, Homefront, and Frontlines: Fuel of War. Holinka got his start in the game industry moonlighting on the “Desert Combat” mod for Battlefield 1942 while serving as a Captain in the United States Air Force.
Cory Stockton, Lead Content Designer: As Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.'s lead content designer for World of Warcraft®, Cory Stockton is responsible for overseeing the design and implementation of all exterior zones, dungeons, Battlegrounds, Arenas, and cities. He is also involved with many other aspects of the game, such as dungeon scripting and the Pet Battle System.
- Stockton started at Blizzard Entertainment in June 2005 as lead dungeon designer before transitioning to his current role. Prior to his arrival, he was a lead designer on the Ratchet & Clank series and also contributed extensively to the Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver series.
- In his spare time, Stockton plays games extensively, and enjoys collecting classic consoles and games. He holds an associate's degree in computer animation from the Art Institute of Phoenix.
Greg Street, Lead Systems Designer: As the lead systems designer for World of Warcraft®, Greg Street is one of the two lead designers on the team that reports to the Game Director. He leads a team that is in charge of World of Warcraft class, item and tradeskill design. He and his team also design the user interface for the game and handle all of the various combat calculations and number tuning.

/cast Hearthstone

End of message.

Blizzard <3s Bad Robot

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 07:56:07 +0000

Blizzard Official WoW Blog

One of the core values we live by here at Blizzard is “Embrace Your Inner Geek.” We play countless games, we collect comics and card games, we love cutting-edge technology and computer hardware, we’re fascinated by science and discovery, and many of us are movie buffs. Movies represent the combined imaginations of talented writers and visionaries, artists and operators, editors and producers, that can culminate in an awesome cinematic experience.

It’s with this motivation that we express our respect for JJ Abrams' Bad Robot Productions.

Coming in a future patch, characters with the Engineering profession will be able to produce this mechanical homage to the company that brought us award-winning television shows like Lost and Fringe, and are continuing the epic Star Trek and forthcoming Star Wars film sagas. Everyone has a chance to get their hands on this pet, allowing them to show off their mutual appreciation for Bad Robot, and the stories they’ve brought to our TVs and movie screens.

(source)

To express their respect for JJ Abrams' production company, Blizzard will be adding a new mechanical pet into the game, in a future patch. This pet will be created by Engineers.

Patch 5.2 Hotfixes - April 18

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 06:43:12 +0000

Blizzard Official WoW Blog

Patch Information

Classes

Warlock
- Destruction
  - Fixed an issue where targets of Havoc were receiving more damage than intended from Immolate.

Quests

Eyes of the Thunder King: Engaging Unblinking Eyes and Focused Eyes will now place all members of the raid in combat, preventing players from releasing when they die.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Throne of Thunder
- Ra-den
  - Fixed an issue where it was possible to have 2 instances of Unstable Vita active during the Ra-den encounter.
- Twin Consorts
  - Crane Rush now deals 5 million damage, down from 30 million damage in Raid Finder difficulty.

Items

Brutal Talisman of the Shado-Pan Assault now grants a reduced bonus of 4400 to Strength, down from 8800 Strength, and the effect duration now lasts 30 seconds, up from 15 seconds when the effect is activated in PvP combat.
Tyrannical Primal Diamond when socketed to a bind-on-equip helmet now causes the helmet to become soulbound.
Vicious Talisman of the Shado-Pan Assault now grants a reduced bonus of 4400 to Agility, down from 8800 Agility, and the effect duration now lasts 40 seconds, up from 20 seconds when the effect is activated in PvP combat.

Bug Fixes

Resolved an issue where Capacitive Primal Diamond's effect was not activating properly.

(source)

Patch 5.2 Hotfixes - April 16

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:36:32 +0000

Blizzard Official WoW Blog

Patch Information

Classes

Druids
- Glyphs
  - Glyph of Regrowth should now properly remove the periodic component of Regrowth while active.

Quests

Secrets of the First Empire: Fixed an issue where an excessive amount of Trillium Bars could be removed while completing the quest.
Securing A Future: Lady Jaina Proudmoore should reappear properly if the player logs out while completing the quest.

Creatures

Maturing Raptor should spawn more frequently now.
Trained Compy should spawn more frequently now.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Throne of Thunder
- Durumu the Forgotten
  - Durumu will now have a longer delay before resuming his attacks while the maze of Eye Sores despawn.
- Iron Qon
  - During the final phase of the encounter, Iron Qon's Quilen champions should no longer try to reposition themselves in 10-player and 25-player Heroic difficulty.
  - Reduced the health of Ice Tomb.
- Ji-Kun
  - Fixed an issue where players with Daedalian Wings may incorrectly receive the Lesson of Icarus debuff while flying between some of the upper nests.
- Primordius
  - Fixed an issue that could cause Fully Mutated players to deal excessive damage to Living Fluids or Viscous Horrors that are under the effects of a Warlock's Immolate.
  - Reduced the health of Primordius by 11% in 10-player and 25-player Heroic difficulty.
  - Reduced the health of Viscous Horrors by 15% in 10-player and 25-player Heroic difficulty.
- Tortos
  - Fixed an issue where certain situations could cause Whirl Turtles to travel more slowly than intended when kicked.
- Twin Consorts
  - Reduced the health of Lu'lin and Suen by 10% in Raid Finder difficulty.

Items

Socketing a legendary Meta Gem (Capacitive Primal Diamond, Courageous Primal Diamond, Indomitable Primal Diamond, and Sinister Primal Diamond) to a bind-on-equip helmet now causes the helmet to become soulbound.
Courageous Primal Diamond should no longer have its Clearcasting effect get overwritten incorrectly, and the Clearcasting effect should no longer activate if the character is not in combat.
Indomitable Primal Diamond should now properly have a chance to activate the Fortitude effect received from all damage sources, not just from auto-attacks.
Rune of Re-Origination should now activate its effect more frequently for Hunters.

(source)

Patch 5.3 - Brawler's Guild Updates

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 18:58:33 +0000

In Patch 5.3, there will be two new tiers of Brawler's Guild fight. You can count on us to cover them, as well as to complete our offering of guides for rank 8 fights.

Blizzard Official WoW Blog

As more and more Blood-Soaked Invitations have been procured through the Black Market Auction House or distributed by ranking Brawler’s Guild members, the dark recesses of Stormwind and Orgrimmar echo with the sounds of epic battles. In Patch 5.3, Brawler’s Guild will be receiving some exciting changes which will offer members new challenges, unique rewards, and the ability to relive some of your favorite encounters. If you think you’ve mastered the arena, wait until you see what’s in store!

To start, two new tiers will offer Brawler’s Guild members the opportunity to reach rank 10, and will introduce eight new bosses. We don’t want to ruin the surprise and explain each fight, though, so it’ll be up to you to discover who these mighty foes are, and what they can do. Trust us, you’ll need plenty of Healing Potions.

Also new to the system are Challenge Cards. Whether out in the world fishing, doing some Archeology, or just sightseeing and finding a musically-talented grummle to /dance with, these new cards can be used to open up a quest and gain access to twelve new exclusive bosses! Keep a close lookout for the words, “RETURN TO BRAWLER'S GUILD.”

Now, it goes without saying that certain Brawler’s Guild boss encounters have been memorable for those who were able to survive. In Patch 5.3, we’re adding the ability to revisit past fights! Once you’ve defeated a tier or Challenge Card boss, you can then visit an NPC who sells Challenge Cards for each fight, allowing you the opportunity to repeat the encounter. For those of you who’d love another shot at taking down Epicus Maximus, this will be your chance.

So, you’ve had a busy day avoiding laser beams and gnashing teeth, and now you just want to relax. Why not visit the VIP lounge? Keep in mind that you’ll need to reach a certain rank to join the upper echelon of Brawler society, but obstacles like that never got in your way, right? For the Alliance, you’re already familiar with the roped-off doorway that leads to the mysterious area overlooking Bizmo’s Brawlpub. Spill blood, earn recognition, and you will be able to head on up! For the Horde, Garrosh begrudgingly loaned out a zeppelin to Brawl’gar Arena, where you can find refreshment and a scenic view!

From new, visually stimulating fights, to boss duos that will haunt you in your sleep, be prepared to laugh and cry, often at the same time! Oh, and if anyone asks, we’ve never spoken to each other. . . .

(source)

Patch 5.2 Hotfixes - April 10

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 09:35:32 +0000

Blizzard Official WoW Blog

Below is a listing of 5.2 Hotfixes by date. A compilation of 5.2 Hotfixes is also available.

Patch Information

Classes

Paladin
- Item Sets
  - Tier-15 Retribution Paladin 2-piece set bonus will no longer interrupt the Paladin's weapon swing timer when Exorcism is cast.

Quests

Charged Moganite: Players under the effects of Charged Moganite will now deal a flat amount of nature damage against a target, subject to the effects of Resilience and other effects that reduce spell damage.
The Darkness Within: Captain Doren should no longer get stuck in evade if a player dies while he is casting Rejection.

Creatures

Loa-Infused Bladetalon now deals less damage when using the Pounce ability.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Throne of Thunder
- Elemental and Restoration Shamans are now eligible for caster staves that give a bonus to Spirit (Giorgio's Caduceus of Pure Moods, and Suen-Wo, Spire of the Falling Sun) in Raid Finder difficulty and via bonus rolls.
- Elemental Shamans are now eligible for caster staves that give a bonus to Hit (Dinomancer's Spiritbinding Spire) in Raid Finder difficulty and via bonus rolls.
- Council of Elders
  - Decreased the power gain rate of possessed council members in 10-player Normal difficulty.
  - Frost King Malakk now deals less damage with each stack of Frostbite in 10-player Normal difficulty.
  - Sul the Sandcrawler now deals less damage with Sandbolt in 10-player Normal difficulty.
- Durumu the Forgotten
  - Disintegration Beam now dissipates sooner before reaching the end of the maze.
  - We've created a forum thread discussing additional details behind recent adjustments for the Durumu encounter.
- Horridon
  - Reduced the health of Farraki Wastewalkers, Gurubashi Venom priests, Drakkari Frozen Warlords, and Amani Warbears in the Horridon encounter by 15% in 10-player Normal difficulty.
  - Drakkari Frozen Warlord now deals less damage with Mortal Strike in 10-player Normal difficulty.
  - Risen Drakkari Champions and Warriors now deals less damage with Deadly Plague in 10-player Normal difficulty.
- Primordius
  - Reduced the health of Primordius slightly in 10-player and 25-player Heroic difficulty.
- Tortos
  - Whirl Turtles now have a reduced base movement speed in 10-player Normal difficulty.
  - Vampiric Cave Bats now deal less damage in 10-player Normal difficulty.
Heart of Fear
- Garalon
  - Garalon's enrage timer has been increased to 12 minutes, up from 7 minutes in 10-player and 25-player Normal difficulty.

Items

Brutal Talisman of the Shadow-Pan Assault now grants a reduced bonus of 6908 to Strength when the effect is activated in PvP combat, down from 8800. The bonus remains unchanged when the effect is activated in PvE combat.
Vicious Talisman of the Shadow-Pan Assault now grants a reduced bonus of 6908 to Agility when the effect is activated in PvP combat, down from 8800. The bonus remains unchanged when the effect is activated in PvE combat.

(source)

Patch 5.2 Hotfixes - April 9

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:17:50 +0000

Blizzard Official WoW Blog

Below is a listing of 5.2 Hotfixes by date. A compilation of 5.2 Hotfixes is also available.

Patch Information

Classes

Hunter
- Talents
  - Powershot now has a 25% decrease to damage, cast time, cooldown, and focus cost.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Throne of Thunder
- Durumu the Forgotten
  - Safe spots in the maze of Eye Sores now appear earlier, before the Disintegration Beam starts moving.
  - Adjustments were made to visual effects for Eye Sores to make it easier to see the maze.
- Primordius
  - Mutated Abomination effect once again reduces his damage taken from non-Fully Mutated players by 75% on 10-player and 25-player Heroic difficulty only.

Bug Fixes

Fixed a crash that occured when Gnomes or Taurens log into the game while riding a mount over water.

(source)

Patch 5.2 Hotfixes - April 2, April 4, April 8

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 08:33:30 +0000

Blizzard Official WoW Blog

Below is a listing of 5.2 Hotfixes by date. A compilation of 5.2 Hotfixes is also available.

Patch Information

General

Brightly Colored Eggs now spawn more frequently.

Creatures

Zandalari Beast Handler is now properly seated in a saddle while riding a Direhorrn.

Quests

Extended Shore Leave: This quest has been temporarily removed from quest rotation to address an issue with the Zandalari Warship.
To the Skies!: Fixed an issue where players would remain on Thunderwing and be unable to progress to Stage 3.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Fixed an issue where Warlocks remained in the wrong phase at The Black Temple after completing the quest Seek the Signal.
Assassination Rogues should no longer be receiving non-dagger agility weapons from bonus rolls and Raid Finder.
Vampiric Cave Bat now deals less damage in Raid Finder difficulty.
Throne of Thunder
- Giorgio's Caduceus of Pure Moods is no longer being awarded to Elemental and Restoration Shamans on Raid Finder difficulty or via bonus rolls.
- Primordius
  - During the Primordius encounter, spells which dispel a single harmful effect (Sear Magic, Single Magic, or Mass Dispel) will no longer work if any of the positive effects are active on the target (Improved Synapses, Keen Eyesight, Thick Bones, Clear Mind, or Fully Mutated).
- Durumu the Forgotten
  - During the Light Spectrum phase, Yellow Eye's cone now moves more quickly on Raid Finder difficulty.
  - Eye Sore and Mind Daggers now deal less damage on Raid Finder difficulty.
  - Amber Fog, Azure Fog, and Crimson Fog now remain visible after being revealed on Raid Finder difficulty.
- Ra-den
  - Fixed an issue that could prevent Ra-den from absorbing Essences of Anima/Vita as intended.
  - Engaging Ra-den now resets the cooldown on Reincarnation for Shamans.

Items

Darkmoon Card: Blue Dragon now has a reduced chance to activate its effect for characters that are level 61-69 and its effect no longer activates for characters above level 69.
Inscribed Bag of Hydra-Spawn now has an increased chance to activate its shielding effect.

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue where some situations could cause players to not receive credit towards Pay to Slay or It Was Worth Every Ritual Stone achievement after defeating Incomplete Drakkari Colossus.

(source)

BlizzCon 2013 Tickets On Sale April 24 and 27

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:20:27 +0000

Blizzcon Website

Mark your calendars—a Blizzard is coming to Southern California! Tickets for BlizzCon^® 2013 will go on sale in two batches on Wednesday, April 24 at 7 p.m. PDT and Saturday, April 27 at 10 a.m. PDT through the official BlizzCon website. In addition, a limited number of tickets to an exclusive pre-BlizzCon Benefit Dinner will go on sale Wednesday, May 1 at 7 p.m. PDT.

BlizzCon 2013 takes place November 8 and 9 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA, and tickets to the two-day show will be available at $175 USD each. Tickets to the Benefit Dinner (which includes admission to BlizzCon) will be priced at $500 USD each, with proceeds benefitting Children’s Hospital of Orange County. Tickets to previous BlizzCon events have sold out within minutes, so be sure to synchronize your hourglasses.

Paladins, demon hunters, and Ghosts who can’t make it to the show in person will once again have the option to enjoy BlizzCon from home by ordering a BlizzCon Virtual Ticket, offering comprehensive live coverage of the event via a multi-channel Internet stream. Further details on the Virtual Ticket, including pricing, availability, and programming information, will be announced at a later date.

See the full press release or check out the BlizzCon Ticket page for more information, and be sure visit the official BlizzCon website at the dates and times above for a chance to purchase a ticket to the show. We hope to see you in Anaheim!

(source)

Patch 5.2 Hotfixes - March 29

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 05:35:14 +0000

Blizzard Official WoW Blog

Patch Information

Classes

Mage
- Tier-15 Fire/Frost 4-piece set bonus should now properly increase Frostbolt's chance to activate Fingers of Frost effect.
Priest
- Tier-15 Discipline/Holy 4-piece set bonus should summon a Golden Apparition that now heals for the correct amount and can activate Divine Aegis.
Rogue
- Combat
  - Blade Flurry now has a range of 8 yards, up from 5 yards, and will only hit targets that are within the Rogue's line-of-sight.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Ji-Kun's Feed Young ability should now be slightly easier to intercept.
To the Skies!: Fixed an issue where the Hail of Arrows debuff not being removed after defeating Beastmaster Horaki.

Items

Enchant Weapon - Glorious Tyranny can no longer be used on other player's weapons and will cause bind-on-equipped items to become soulbound.
Lightning-Imbued Chalice now has a greatly increased chance to generate Infinite Power.

(source)

Patch 5.2 Hotfixes - March 27

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 09:15:55 +0000

Patch Information

Classes

Druid
- Tier-15 Feral Druid 2-piece set bonus should now work correctly with Savage Roar while Glyph of Savagery is active.
Monk
- Tier-15 Brewmaster Monk 2-piece set bonus should now correctly increase Stagger by 12%.
- Fixed a situation where Tier-15 Mistweaver Monk 2-piece set bonus could cause Renewing Mist to heal more than intended.
- Charges of Mana Tea, Tigereye Brew, and Elusive Brew will now be removed after the Preparation buff wears off in Battlegrounds.
Paladin
- Fixed an issue where Word of Glory or Eternal Flame did not work when both Divine Purpose and Tier-15 Protection Paladin 2-piece set bonus was present.
Priest
- For Discipline Priests with Divine Aegis, Prayer of Healing criticals should now heal for the correct amount.
- Power Word: Solace should now correctly have a chance to activate item and enchantment effects.
Shaman
- Chain Heal now heals for 20% more.
- Healing Rain now heals for 20% more.
- Restoration
  - Earthliving Weapon now heals for 20% more.

Creatures

Itoka's Strange Metal Ingot can now be looted by multiple players.
Oondasta's health had been reduced by 50%.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Throne of Thunder
- Fixed an issue where bracers with a random secondary stat may be awarded to the wrong role through Raid Finder or bonus roll.
- Fixed an issue where zone drops were incorrectly disenchanting into Haunting Spirit.

Items

Big Bag of Zandalari Supplies is now soulbound.
Dragonmaw, Reborn now has a bonus to spellpower.
The Drakefist Hammer, Reborn now has a bonus to spellpower.

Bug Fixes

Tyrannical Conquest achievement should now be correctly tracking a character's Conquest gains.

(source)

Transmogrification guides updated for 5.2

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 08:54:19 +0000

Our Transmogrification guides have been updated for Patch 5.2. This means that all the new items from Patch 5.2 have been added. We also added the Tier 15 and Arena Season 13 sets, as well as the Challenge Mode armors. Finally, Arena Season 9, 10, 11, and 12 sets are now obtained slightly differently than before, so the guides were updated to reflect that.

For our Patch 5.4 update, we will work on getting our model screenshots from the WoW Model Viewer, so that we can give you the option to display the models the way they look for female characters as well as for characters of all possible races. We may even be able to show items the way they will look in Shadowform.

So, stay tuned

5.3 PTR Patch Notes now available

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 09:26:56 +0000

Blizzard Official WoW Blog

Patch 5.3 will soon be available for testing on the Public Test Realms ! By participating, you can help us test new content before it's available. This patch includes a brand new Battleground, a new arena, new scenarios, assorted bug fixes, and more.

Please keep in mind that the below notes are not final, and a great deal could change before the final patch 5.3 release.

General

Please note: During the 5.3 PTR, not all the content listed may not be available for testing or may only be available during a limited testing window. Keep an eye on our PTR Discussion forum for details.
New Battleground: Deepwind Gorge
- In the new Battleground situated in the Valley of the Four Winds, the Alliance and Horde continue their war for Pandaria’s precious resources. While the two factions battle for control over mines, they must also protect their own resources from being stolen and turned against them!
New Arena: Shado-Pan
- Gladiator hopefuls have a new location to test their mettle amidst the Kun-Lai mountain tops, in the training grounds of the powerful Shado-Pan. Players must make use of the looming tiger statues and fenced platforms to gain an advantage that will bring victory and glory!
New Scenario: Battle on the High Seas
- Help your faction fend off enemy forces in the midst of a battle for naval supremacy on the High Seas.
New Scenario: Blood in the Snow
- An agent of Zandalar has infiltrated Dun Morogh and rallied the Frostmane trolls. At Varian’s request, Moira will lead her personal guard against them once the king’s champions have stopped the magical storm protecting Shimmer Ridge.
New Scenario: Dark Heart of Pandaria
- Goblin engineers have been excavating in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms to find a mysterious artifact, but all they've found is trouble; you have been personally called upon by the Warchief to aid them in their hour of need.
New Scenario: The Secrets of Emberdeep
- Infiltrate the Emberdeep Caverns and assist the Gob Squad in investigating a recent disappearance in Durotar.
Heroic Scenarios
- A heroic difficulty for Scenarios have been added and are designed to provide challenging content for small groups of well-seasoned adventurers. Completing a Heroic Scenario awards Valor points, and a chance to obtain Raid Finder quality items.

Classes

Death Knights
- More information coming soon.
Druid
- Mark of the Wild had its mana cost reduced to 5%, down from 10%.
- Symbiosis: Intimidating Roar had its cooldown increased to 90 seconds, up from 60 seconds.
Hunter
- More information coming soon.
Mage
- Arcane Brilliance had its mana cost reduced to 1%, down from 4%.
- Dalaran Brilliance had its mana cost reduced to 1%, down from 4%.
Monk
- Spear Hand Strike now locks a spell school out for 4 seconds, down from 5 seconds.
- Windwalker
  - Legacy of the Emperor had its energy cost reduced to 1%, down from 6%.
  - Legacy of the White Tiger had its energy cost reduced to 1%, down from 6%.
Paladin
- Blessing of Kings had its mana cost reduced to 5%, down from 22.3%.
- Blessing of Might had its mana cost reduced to 5%, down from 22.3%.
Priest
- Power Word: Fortitude had its mana cost reduced to 1%, down from 4.4%.
Rogue
- More information coming soon.
Shaman
- More information coming soon.
Warlock
- Dark Intent had its mana cost reduced to 1%, down from 4%.
Warrior
- Vigilance now resets the cooldown on Taunt in addition to its current effects.

Quests

More information coming soon.

Creatures

Oondasta
- Shiny Pile of Refuse now has a chance to contain a Primal Egg, and a number of Dinosaur Bones.
- Spitfire Beam no longer increases in damage with each jump, deals a flat 200,000 damage(up from 150,000 damage), and jumps to 99 targets (up from 20 targets).

Pet Battles

Dueling for Pet Battles are now available in all dungeons and raids. Enjoy!

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Loot Specialization
- Players can now choose to receive loot for a specialization that's different from their current class role. This feature could be accessed by right-clicking on the character portrait and selecting the option from the drop-down list. Loot specialization is available for bonus rolls, Raid Finder, and Pandarian quest rewards.
Raids
- Bonus Roll
  - Protection for bad luck streaks have been added to bonus rolls. Each bonus roll that does not provide loot has a progressively better chance to award loot to the player.
- Serpentshrine Cavern
  - For the Fathom-Lord Karathress encounter, Cataclysmic Bolt now deals 10% of the target's maximum health plus 500 damage, down from 50% of target's maximum health, the stun effect is now a Stun mechanic, and can target any player instead of only characters with mana.
  - Lady Vashj
    - Coilfang Strider's Panic ability now activates every 4 seconds, up from every 2 seconds.
    - Shock Blast's stun effect is now a Stun mechanic.
    - Tainted Elementals now despawn after 20 seconds, up from 15 seconds.
- Tempest Keep
  - For the High Astromancer Solarian encounter, Nether Scryer's Domination spell now has a 2 second cast time, up from instant cast, and can be silenced.
  - For the Void Reaver encounter, the radius for Arcane Orb has been reduced to 15 yards, down from 20 yards.
- Throne of Thunder
  - Amani’shi Beast Shaman no longer casts Chain Lightning while mounted on Amani Warbears.

PvP

Additional information and explanation for the reasoning behind PvP changes will be available very soon.
All characters now have a base Resilience of 65%.
Resilience has been removed from most PvP gear.
Season 13 Tyrannical gear had their item levels increased to ilevel 496, up from ilevel 493.
Season 13 Tyrannical Elite gear had their item levels decreased to ilevel 496, down from ilevel 512.
Battlegrounds, Rated Battlegrounds, and Arenas now have an ilevel cap. All gear will be scaled down to ilevel 496.

Battlegrounds

More information coming soon.

Professions

Herbalists of low skill can now pick herbs in Pandaria for a small amount of usable material. The yield an herbalist will be able to harvest from each node is determined by skill level.
Miners of low skill can now mine mineral deposits in Pandaria for a small amount of usable material. The yield a miner will be able to harvest from each node is determined by skill level.

Items

The Voidbinders are back in capital cities and shrines.
- PvE Item Upgrades
  - Items upgradable by Valor now require 250 Valor to upgrade per 4 item levels, for a total of 500 Valor for 8 item levels per item. This is retroactive to all items that use Valor.
  - Items upgradable by Justice now require 750 Justice to upgrade per 8 item levels, for a total of 750 Justice for 8 item levels per item. This is retroactive to all items that use Justice.
- PvP Item Upgrades
  - Malevolent Gladiator’s Conquest (Season 12) items that have upgrades available are still upgradable at their original costs.
  - Dreadful Gladiator’s Honor (Season 12) items that have upgrades available are still upgradable at their original costs.
  - No other PvP items are upgradable.
Unclaimed Black Market Containers are now available on the Black Market Auction House. What's inside? It's a mystery! When opened, the container has a chance to contain any item that can be available on the BMAH.
Courageous Primal Diamond had its clearcasting effect renamed to “Lucidity” to differentiate it from other spells with that name.

UI

More information coming soon.

Bug Fixes

More information coming soon.

(source)

Item Upgrades in 5.3

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 18:38:44 +0000

Blizzard Official WoW Blog

As you’re probably aware we introduced a new system in 5.1 which allowed you to upgrade some gear a few items levels at a time by paying with the PvE (Valor/Justice) and PvP (Conquest/Honor) currencies. In 5.2 the Voidbinders (NPCs who perform item upgrades) took a break to let people focus on just acquiring new items with their points. It also gave us time to evaluate the system, and decide how we want to continue supporting it.

PvE Item Upgrades in 5.3:

Voidbinders will return to their places in capital cities and shrines.
Items upgradable by Valor now require 250 Valor to upgrade per 4 item levels, for a total of 500 Valor for 8 item levels per item.
- This is retroactive to all items that use Valor.
5.2 Justice items now require 750 Justice to upgrade per 8 item levels, for a total of 750 Justice for 8 item levels per item.
- This is retroactive to all items that use Justice.
- This is higher than Valor to account for the increased acquisition rate of Justice since patch 5.2.

We still like the upgrade system for PvE as a way to make steady progression against bosses you can’t quite kill yet. You very predictably earn Valor every day, and use that Valor toward increasing your character’s power and overcoming an obstacle. It’s also good that Valor always has a use; it’s a currency we always want to be valuable regardless of where you are in progression.

The thing we didn’t like about item upgrades previously was that it created these rather brutal decisions where you were essentially betting against yourself, or having to offload large sums of Valor to keep from capping. If you just got a belt, but next week you’re going up against a Heroic boss that drops a best-in-slot belt for you, you might bet that you’ll get that belt and so you’d wait to upgrade it. But that’s complicated by the issue of being Valor capped and needing to spend some. So you dump Valor on upgrading a different slot and just hope you don’t replace that one instead.

In 5.3 the costs are dramatically cut to the point that these decisions are far less brutal, and you can pretty easily upgrade every slot instead of hedging bets against specific slots being replaced or not. In the example above you could go ahead and fully upgrade that new belt for only 500 Valor, as opposed to the 1500 it would have cost you before.

PvP Item Upgrades in 5.3:

Malevolent Gladiator’s Conquest (Season 12) items that have upgrades available are still upgradable at their original costs.
Dreadful Gladiator’s Honor (Season 12) items that have upgrades available are still upgradable at their original costs.
No other PvP items are upgradable, and no new PvP items for the foreseeable future will use the upgrade system.

It shouldn’t be too surprising, given that we’ve already come out and said it some weeks ago, that item upgrades are essentially not coming back for PvP. It’s something a lot of PvPers asked that we remove, it’s something we didn’t feel worked out too well, and so unsurprisingly the result is that it isn’t coming back. We’re still probably going to allow the Season 12 items that had previous upgradability to remain upgradable, as noted in the bullets above, but it’s not something we’re absolutely certain about at this moment. We’ll let you know if that changes.

Because gearing in PvP is based almost entirely on currency purchases, Conquest and Honor already always have a use, and we ask players to amass a lot of them to continue gearing. Honestly it was fairly unanimous that balancing the means of gear acquisition against upgrades just didn’t make good sense, at least with the current systems.

(source)

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft Revealed at PAX East

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:24:46 +0000

Blizzard Official WoW Blog

We’re excited to announce Blizzard’s newest game today: Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft! It’s a free-to-play strategy card game that’s deceptively simple and insanely fun, coming to Windows, Mac, and the iPad!

Join us over at the new Hearthstone website at PlayHearthstone.com, and follow the game on Twitter @PlayHearthstone , at YouTube.com/Hearthstone , and Facebook.com/PlayHearthstone , where we’ll be sharing news, artwork, videos, and announcements, live from PAX East and beyond!

(source)

Patch 5.2 Hotfixes - March 21

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:12:06 +0000

Blizzard Official WoW Blog

Patch Information

Classes

Warlock
- Demonic Gateway should no longer despawn when the casting Warlock moves far away.

Quests

Crumbled Chamberlain: Statue pieces now do not despawn when looted, allowing other players to loot the statue piece as well.
Stone Cold: Fixed an issue where players were unable to interact with Grave Guardian statues.

Creatures

Oondastas for everyone! Oondasta now respawns much more frequently.
Exchange Guards have resumed their stance of not interfering with players engaged in Horde/Alliance hostilities(PvP combat).

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Throne of Thunder
- Gastropod should now favor attackers that are at range.
- Reduced the amount of creatures in the area leading up to Ji-Kun in Raid Finder.
- Fixed an issue where players winning a bonus roll after defeating Iron Qon on Heroic mode could receive a non-heroic version of the tier token.
- Fixed an issue where damage from Lei Shen's Crashing Thunder, Lightning Whip, Overcharge and Discharged Energy was not being reduced by Feint.
- Twin Consorts
  - Reduced the health of Suen and Lu'lin in 25-player Heroic mode.
Icecrown Citadel
- Fixed an issue where Master Looters were unable to assign Shadowfrost Shards to another player.
Temple of Ahn'Qiraj
- The Prophet Skeram has loot again and no longer creates illusions for now. He'll be back to normal in a future patch.

Items

Increased the cast time to perform the ritual for summonable bosses using Shan'ze Ritual Stones on the Isle of Thunder from 2 seconds to 5 seconds.
All uncommon(green) item drops from the Isle of Thunder should now be disenchantable.
Darkmoon Whistle should no longer cause other players to drop out of stealth.
Essence of the Breeze should now only usable while on the continent of Pandaria.

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Two Years of Icy Veins!

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:48:19 +0000

Two years ago on this day, Vlad and I launched Icy Veins. You can go to http://old.icy-veins.com to see the site exactly how it was on the day of the launch. At the time, we had only 1 raid encounter guide (Chimaeron) and 3 class guides (Fire Mage, Frost Mage, and Holy Paladin). It probably doesn't seem much to those who recently started coming to our website, but back then, putting these guides together felt like a lot of work. Anyway, we kept working and over a year later, we had a complete offering of class and encounter guides (plus a few other goodies, like transmog and event guides). Then Mists of Pandaria hit the shelves, and our 5.0.4 class guides got heavily linked on MMO-Champion, which is when most our of current visitors discovered us.

Thanks to this exposure, our traffic increased enough that we now both make a modest living off the website. This is great news for us because our efforts have finally paid off. We've been working full time on the website since day 1, so we took a huge gamble, as we could have both probably had successful careers in our respective fields. It's been difficult financially for the both of us, but those days now seem to be behind us. This is also great news for you, our readers, because it means that we will be able to keep working on the website for the foreseeable future, and we have many plans to make Icy Veins an even better resource.

This 2-year journey hasn't always been a pleasure cruise and there have been a few hard moments, like when our Dragon Soul encounter guides were not as successful (traffic-wise) as we had anticipated them to be, or when Diablo 3 was released and our traffic was divided by 2 over night. Fortunately, our work has always been very positively received, and whenever we were going through a bit of a crisis, there would always be a message in our mailbox to praise our work, and it would make us confident again, ready to get back to work.

So, many thanks to everyone who has supported us over the past 2 years, your kind words never went unnoticed (be sure of that). There are people that we would like to thank especially, because they really helped us a lot:

our respective wives for putting up with our hobby-turned-main-occupation;
Michael Oglesby, for helping us (originally in his spare time) with design work and usability issues;
Zagam, our Warlock moderator, who is doing a terrific job with his Warlock section;
Boubouille and Chaud from MMO-Champion for pushing our website into a different category when MoP was released and for the continued support since then;
the Ask Mr. Robot team, and Vee in particular, for the all interesting discussions on stat weights/priorities and for the advice regarding advertising solutions for our website;
all the community team at Blizzard, especially Zahrym and Nethaera, for noticing our work and often promoting it, and for sending us those awesome prizes for our Christmas contest;
the development team of Simulation Craft for making such a wonderful and useful tool.

Patch 5.2 Hotfixes - March 19

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 07:59:34 +0000

Blizzard Official WoW Blog

Patch Information

Classes

Monk
- Tier-15 Mistweaver 2-piece set bonus should now increase the healing of Renewing Mist by the correct amount.
Paladin
- Hand of Purity no longer reduces the damage dealt by effects that ignore immunities.

Quests

Captive Audience: Fixed an issue with Rune Prisons that prevented new captives from spawning.

Creatures

Summonable bosses on the Isle of Thunder now leash back instead of despawning when pulled too far from their spawn point.
Zandalari Warbringers are now immune to crowd control and interrupt effects.
Fixed an issue where some players may not receive loot after defeating Nalak.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Mogu'shan Vaults
- Increased the time before the gate to closes while engaging Feng the Accursed to 8 seconds, up from 3 seconds.
Throne of Thunder
- Council of Elders
  - Reduced the penalty to damage taken from the Shadowed Soul debuff from 5% to 3% per stack on 10-player Heroic mode.
- Dark Animus
  - Dark Animus will now use its abilities at more consistent intervals.
  - Interrupting Jolt now deals less damage on 10/25-player Heroic mode.
  - Explosive Slam now deals significantly less damage on 10-player Heroic mode.
  - Fixed an issue where Matter Swap could sometimes teleport players beneath the world.
- Ji-Kun
  - Fixed an issue where Bore Worms would remain submerged.
  - Fixed an issue where Bow Fly Swarms would enter combat while remaining out of melee range.
- Lei Shen
  - Fixed an issue where players defeating Lei Shen did not receive credit towards the Pinnacle of Storms achievement.
- Megaera
  - Reduced the damage dealt by Megaera’s breaths and Ignite Flesh on 10-player Normal mode.
  - Reduced the damage dealt by Rampage on 10-player Normal mode.

PvP

Season 13 Tyrannical weapons had their item levels increased to ilevel 498, up from ilevel 493, to match Season 12 Elite weapons.
Season 13 Malevolent Honor gear now gives more Stamina, making them comparable to Season 12 counterparts.

Battlegrounds

Eye of the Storm: Horde teams are now being awarded the proper amount of victory points when holding 3 towers.

Items

Ra'sha's Sacrificial Dagger now has an increased cooldown for its special ability.

UI

There should no longer be a delay in displaying Isle of Thunder stage progression status on the World Map.

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Lei Shen written guide and Heroic Jin'rokh

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 21:23:40 +0000

We have finally completed our written guide for the fight against Lei Shen. Moreover, we have updated our Jin'rokh the Breaker guide for Heroic mode.

You can expect us to focus extensively on finishing our video guide coverage for the Throne of Thunder bosses in the week to come.

Thank you for all your support and feedback.