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Warriors Posted By chaud at 12-30-2008 02:58 PM.

Anub'Rekhan
Yes, the image still doesn't match. Fix inc tomorrow!

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Not many blue posts that weren't just repeating what they have been saying for weeks.

Warriors

Concise questions seeking Answers (Warrior) - Source

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Q: 2) Is it intended for the new Arms tree to be so heavily dependant on RNG or was it maybe taken a bit to that extreme, and if so are there any plans to making the damage from that tree seem more on demand?
A: we're okay with it for now. Various specs have more or less RNG baked into them. Fire and Frostfire mages are enormously RNG at the moment, but many players are okay with that.

Q: 4) Are stance restrictions for certain abilities such as 1) Pummel 2) Rend 3) Overpower still considered a functional and desired warrior mechanic? Mostly in regards to Pummel as Arms is lacking a convinient interrupt due to it being balanced around battle stance.
A: Yes, we like stance restrictions. That is really the major thing that makes stances unique. Despite the changes we made though, I still think Battle Stance is a little neglected and that is something we'll be looking at.

Q: 5) Is weapon swapping invoking the GCD while in combat something that is considered to be ok, namely for a class like warriors which rely on frequently switching between a 2 hander and sword and board to use basic functions such as spell reflect, shield wall, and possibly shield bash? This could also help with the issue of Arms not having a readily accessible interrupt if equiping a shield didnt invoke the gcd to interrupt.
A: It's supposed to be a decision on whether to use a shield or not, not something you can macro around. If we wanted you to use spell reflect without a sheild, we would have just done that. (Trivia: we did consider a deep Arms talent to let warriors spell reflect and possibly even bash with a two-hander.)

Q: 6) Is changing charge to a 1 second root mechanic, similar to druids feral bear charge being considered, to help alleviate some of the issues warriors are facing in terms of not landing near their opponent, the stun not landing and lastly by invoking an early DR on stuns?
A: You're talking about changing the mechanic just as a work around to technical limitations. That is a last resort if we can't make the tech work the way we want. The movement code in WoW is something we need to update. We are using it a lot more (consider even things like Disengage and Death Grip) than the original architects probably intended. If we can't make it work, then we might change charge.

If we do DR on stuns, it won't be because of warriors.

Later...: My bad. You said "DR" and I even responded "DR" but what I meant wasn't diminishing returns, but breaking on damage (as fear does now). That is a topic that comes up a lot. My point was that it wouldn't make a big difference on very short stuns like Charge, but it would change being stunlocked quite a bit.

To answrer several other questions, yes I realize the questions were directed at PvP. The poster even said that up front. I mentioned Fury pulling aggro because it suggests their damage may also be pretty RNG if they can't control it better.

RNG in PvP is a pretty big topic. In general you will probably find us more tolerant of random elements than players typically are. Misses, crits and resists are all very random and sometimes those numbers can determine success or failure of a match.

I also feel the need to remind you that we do ban posters when it's warranted. We usually don't draw a lot of attention to it, so it probably doesn't work well as a tactic to dissuade anyone. But it does happen. It is also sad how many repeat offenders there are. Just think twice before you hit that Post button. Any time I don't have to spend on moderation is time I can spend reading.

Q: 7) When comparing the damage sacrifice warriros take by equiping their shield and going into defensive stance to up their survivability to a druid going to bear form or a deathknight going into frost presence (which is further being buffed) are things considered balanced?
A: Yes. To really benefit from bear form, a druid has to have certain talents. If they have those talents, they probably do not have as many +dps talents. A death knight, like a warrior, gives up a lot of damage by going into Frost Presence. The buff was made because we nerfed abilities like Icebound Fortitude and Bone Shield. You also don't have to use a shield and Defensive Stance together every time. It depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

Now, I'll assume you are wearing plate. I am less sympathetic when warriors wear leather "because it's better for us" and then complain about survivability.

Q: 8) With a resource like rage which can be plentiful or crippling scarce, is the 30 rage transfer between stances (if speced) considered to be a reasonable ammount or are there any considerations of possibly slightly increasing the amount retained through stances?
A: This is something we might end up changing. Losing access to certain abilities might be enough. But again, the druid and death knight both pay a resource cost for changing. Remember it is supposed to be a decision, not a test of your reflexes to see how fast you can switch.

Q: 9) >>Open ended question<< Ultimately I made this last one for you to write anything you think the warrior or general wow community would be interested in.
A: I'll just throw out a couple of thoughts on warriors, since I haven't done it in awhile.

Protection - very happy with the tree overall. One of our best success stories in LK I think. Still a viable tank, but with some more interesting abilities and actually a better PvP presence. Critical Block and Damage Shield may present scaling problems down the road.

Fury - Titan's Grip is cool overall, though we still worry about whether Fury has enough buttons to push and too much rage. Whirlwind Glyph change should be nice. Might generate too much threat (with no viable dump) when blowing cooldowns.

Arms -- probably the tree that still needs the most love. Some of the new talents are very cool, but mid-tree may be a bit lackluster (we don't want to make the upper tree any more attractive to Fury). Deep Wounds is probably too high a percent of overall damage, but we don't want to nerf it without compensation elsewhere. Sudden Death may be too RNG, but we'll see. Bladestorm + Retaliation can make a nice tank.

Q: *cough zerker stance penalty 10% bs that no other class has to take for their 3% crit aka mages cough*
A: I think in the minds of most warriors they say "Would I like to have a 10% percent damage penalty or not? I think not."

But of course that's not the way it would work. If we redesigned the stances it wouldn't be in order to give warriors 3% more crit and 10% more health. That's just a straight buff. What we would likely do is something similar to the death knight presences -- lower your health by 10% and then increase the damage reduction of Defensive Stance and give Battle Stance a tiny bit of damage reduction. (Or maybe Battle Stance would take the same damage as Berserk, but have a more meaningful bonus like movement speed or attack speed). Now your tooltips don't use the word "penalty" so you maybe feel better about them, but the balance hasn't really changed much -- Berserk would be an offensive stance and Defensive would be a defensive stance. Being in Berserk would still be risky.

If instead you're just arguing that warriors are weak and need to be buffed, that's a different issue. But there is no reason we would have to solve that by removing stance penalties.

VoA Video Posted By chaud at 12-26-2008 07:20 PM.

For some reason, people are reporting their pugs still have trouble with the joke we all know is VoA. Zenion of The Lost Ancients provided us with the first of several guides on how to down this boss. I have also created a quick FAQ based on the silly questions I have been asked. The video won't play back if you have adblockers running. Embed code is in the box below. Yes, the picture doesn't match the video, we will correct it.


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FAQ
Q: How much raid dps do I need to down this boss?
A: ~7800 in Normal and ~33,500 in Heroic. Assuming you only bring 2 healers and 2 tanks to normal, and each tank does ~500 dps, your DPSers need to do ~1100 DPS each. Assuming you take 2 tanks and 5 healers to heroic, and each tank does ~900 dps, your DPSers need to do ~1600 DPS each. (Even poor players in awful gear should be able to do this, and if you take any decent people, they will be able to make up for the slack)

Q: What does he drop?
A: In normal he drops set pieces of Hateful PvP gear and Heroes (10 Man) PvE gear. In heroic he drops set pieces of Deadly PvP gear and Valorous (25 man) PvE gear. He drops Chest/Legs/Gloves only. He does not drop any Tier tokens. He drops Emblem of Heroism/Valor. There is also a very low chance for a Grand Black War Mammoth to drop. This is a epic ground mount that can carry 2 other people.

Q: Can I get a summon?
A: No. There is no meeting stone. You can take the portal from Dalaran, fly there, or get a warlock summon.

Q: Should I run when those nasty spikes are hitting me?
A: No. You still will get hit, and you will likely drag them onto others.

Q: Should I run when I am in a cloud.
A: Yes, or you may die. Death is not always a bad option for those 800 DPS rogues.

Q: How much trash is there?
A: Four mobs? Nothing very serious, just don't stand in the rock shower. Please.

Q: He just picked up our tank, is he going to eat him?
A: No, but he may go and one shot some of your raid if the off tank doesn't taunt.

Q: How long is the enrage timer?
A: He will enrage in five minutes. If you actually see this...you should uninstall the game. Well, that or find better groups.

Christmas Poems Posted By chaud at 12-24-2008 06:35 PM.

Cooking Daily Quests
Listed with a quick explanation here.

Holiday Poems
Since you are sitting around Org with nothing to do, here are some Christmas poems for you!

Ode to Winter Veil
‘Twas Winter Veil’s eve, and Azerothians know,
That Greatfather Winter soon follows the snow.
Through Ironforge and Orgrimmar, cheer will be spread,
A well-earned respite in a world full of dread.

For just when the world seemed to be on the mend,
When heroes of 70 stood poised to defend,
Foul Arthas returned, the Scourge at his back,
Ready, once more, to renew his attack.

“To the North!” came the cries; grand ships hit the seas,
Hauling great Draenei with Gnomes at their knees,
While zepplins astride with Orc, Tauren, and Troll,
Departed from Tirisfal, harsh Northrend their goal.

Towards 80 they trod, the great heroes of old,
Their purples and blues being vendored for gold,
Their swords and great magics slew demon and brute,
For king and for country, and as always, phat lewt.

Across Tundra and Fjord, through the torn Dragonblight,
Both Alliance and Horde took up the great fight.
With the old feuds intact and all gripped by new fear,
Azeroth is in need of some Winter Veil cheer!

So mount up your reindeer and join in the fun,
Set aside that new polearm, fist weapon, or gun,
And forget about questing, if just for one day.
Even D.E.H.T.A. can’t live on all work and no play!

Smokeywood Pastures will bring all the treats,
And great trees and bright lights will adorn city streets.
And maybe, just maybe, if you play your cards right,
Greatfather Winter will bring you gifts in the night.

Alas, such revelry this world can’t sustain,
Not while Lord Arthas’s armies remain,
But take heart, adventurers, for, as all of us know,
What you truly desire is not found in the snow.

No, the true hero’s gift comes not from these ends,
But from several lost hours with nine of their friends.
With new purples at stake, it takes much to prevail,
So we wish you a short but a sweet Winter Veil.


How the Lich King Stole Winter Veil
Every Toon
Down in Azeroth
Liked Winter Veil a lot...
But the Lich King,
who lived in Northrend,
Did NOT!

The Lich King hated Winter Veil! The whole Winter Veil season!
Now, please don't ask why. Only lore geeks know the reason.
It could be that Frostmourne had corrupted him outright.
It could be, perhaps, that he suffers from frostbite.
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that Jaina broke his heart in Westfall.

But,
Whatever the reason,
His heart or his soul,
He stood there on Winter Veil Eve, hating us all,
Glaring down from Icecrown with a sour, Lich Kingy frown
At the warm lighted windows below in our town.
For he knew every Toon down in Azeroth below
Was busy now, planning to give him the heave-ho.

"And they're equipping epic gear!" he snarled with a sneer.
"Tomorrow is Winter Veil! It's practically here!"
Then he growled, with his Lich King fingers thunderously drumming,
"I MUST find a way to keep Winter Veil from coming!"

For, tomorrow, he knew...
...All the Horde and Alliance
Would wake up bright and early. They'd rush to an instance!
And then! Oh, the trade chat! Oh, the chat! Chat! Chat! Chat!
That's one thing he hated! The CHAT! CHAT! CHAT! CHAT!

Then Toons, from gnome to tauren, would sit down to a great feast.
And they'd feast! And they'd feast!
And they'd FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! FEAST!
They would eat gingerbread cookies, and a rare Mammoth Feast
Which was something the Lich King couldn't stand in the least!

And THEN
They'd do something he liked least of all!
Every Toon down in Azeroth, the tall and the small,
Would stand close together, with Winter Veil treats digesting.
They'd stand hand-in-hand. And the Toons would start questing!
They'd quest! And they'd quest!
AND they'd QUEST! QUEST! QUEST! QUEST!
And the more the Lich King thought of the Winter Veil-Questing
The more the Lich King thought, "I must stop this whole thing!
"Why for six long years I've put up with it now!
I MUST stop Winter Veil from coming!

...But HOW?"
Then he got an idea!
An awful idea!
THE LICH KING
GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!

"I know just what to do!" The Lich King Laughed in his throat.
And he made a quick Greatfather Winter hat and a coat.
And he chuckled, and cackled, "What a great Lich Kingy joke!
"With this coat and this hat, I'll look just like the ol’ bloke!"

"All I need is a reindeer..."
The Lich King looked around.
But since Nesingwary turned up, there was none to be found.
Did that stop the old Lich King...?
No! The Lich King simply said,
"If I can't find a reindeer, I'll make one instead!"
So he summoned the frost wyrm Sapphiron to his stead.
And he placed a reindeer illusion upon the wyrm’s head.

THEN
He loaded some frostweave bags
And some old empty sacks
On a ramshackle sleigh
And he hitched up old Sapph.

Then the Lich King said, "Giddyap!"
And the sleigh started down
Toward the homes where the Toons
Lay a-snooze in their town.

All their windows were dark. Quiet snow filled the air.
All the Toons were all dreaming sweet dreams without care
When he came to the first house in the square.
"This is stop number one," The old Lich King hissed
And he climbed to the roof, empty bags in his fist.

Then he slid down the chimney. A rather tight pinch.
But if Greatfather Winter could do it, then so could this Lich.
He got stuck only once, for a moment or two.
Then he stuck his head out of the fireplace flue
Where the little Toon stockings all hung in a row.
"These stockings," he grinned, "are the first things to go!"

Then he slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant,
Around the whole room, and he took every present!
Rare pets! And motorcycles! Magic carpets! Leather Drums!
Enchantments! Trinkets! Potions! And Wintergrasp plums!
And he stuffed them in bags. Then the Lich King, very nimbly,
Stuffed all the bags, one by one, up the chimney!

Then he slunk to the icebox. He took the Toons' feast!
He took the Toon-pudding! He took the great feast!
He cleaned out that icebox as quick as a flash.
Why, that Lich King even took their last enriched root lasher!
Then he stuffed all the food up the chimney with glee.
"And NOW!" grinned the Lich King, "I will stuff up the tree!"

And the Lich King grabbed the tree, and he started to shove
When he heard a small sound like the coo of a dove.
He turned around fast, and he saw a small Toon!
A gnome, who looked no older than two.

The Lich King had been caught by this little Toon daughter
Who'd got out of bed for some late night raiding and slaughter.
She stared at the Lich King and said, "Greatfather Winter, why,
"Why are you taking our Winter Veil tree? WHY?"

But, you know, that old Lich King was so smart and so slick
He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick!
"Why, my sweet little tot," the fake Greatfather Winter lied,
"There's a light on this tree that won't light on one side.
"So I'm taking it home to my workshop, my dear.
"I'll fix it up there. Then I'll bring it back here."

And his fib fooled the gnome. Then he patted her head
And he got her a forty and he sent her to bed.
And when Littlestabs Toon went to bed with her cup,
HE went to the chimney and stuffed the tree up!

Then the last thing he took
Was the log for their fire.
Then he went up the chimney himself, the old liar.
On their walls he left nothing but hooks, and some wire.

And the one speck of food
That he left in the house
Was a crumb that was even too small for a mouse.

Then
He did the same thing
To the other Toons’ houses

Leaving crumbs
Much too small
For the other Toons’ mouses!

Not even the Toon banks and all their shared loot
Were safe from the wicked Lich Kingy brute.
All their glyphs! Their rare mats! Gold in vast sums!
Nothing he left in this most sacred of sanctums.

It was quarter past dawn...
All the Toons, still a-bed
All the Toons, still a-snooze
When he packed up his sled,
Packed it up with their presents! The ribbons! The wrappings!
The tags! And the tinsel! The trimmings! The trappings!

Three thousand feet up! Up the Icecrown Citadel rampart,
He rode to the tiptop, what a blackheart!
"Pooh-pooh to the Toons!" he was lich-ish-ly humming.
"They're finding out now that no Winter Veil is coming!
"They're just waking up! I know just what they'll do!
"Their mouths will hang open a minute or two
"Then all the Toons down in Azeroth will all cry QQ!"

"That's a noise," grinned the Lich King,
"That I simply must hear!"
So he paused. And the Lich King put a hand to his ear.
And he did hear a sound rising over the snow.
It started in low. Then it started to grow...

But the sound wasn't sad!
Why, this sound sounded merry!
It couldn't be so!
But it WAS merry! VERY!

He stared down from Icecrown!
The Lich King popped his eyes!
Then he shook!
What he saw was a shocking surprise!

Every Toon down in Azeroth, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any presents at all!
He HADN'T stopped Winter Veil from coming!
IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Lich King, with his lich-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?
It came without ribbons! It came without tags!
"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Lich King thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Winter Veil," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
"Maybe Winter Veil...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

And what happened then...?
Well...in Azeroth they say
That the Lich King’s black heart
Grew three sizes that day!
And the minute his heart didn't feel quite so tight,
He whizzed with his loots through the bright morning light
And he brought back the toys! And the food for the feast!
And he...

...HE HIMSELF...!
The Lich King carved the roast beast!

Blues, Site Updates Posted By chaud at 12-23-2008 12:39 PM.

Site Updates
You may have realized that content has been a bit...slow lately. While part of that is due to no help, part is because of the future. We will be working with Nihilum to provide you with even more updated content, Raid Guides and Videos, Community news, more social features, and much more. We will be providing more details at a later date, but expect upgrades in the future.

We have updated most of the dungeon pages with a list of achievements for that instance and a short note on how to get them. If you are looking for further help, why not ask in the forum. If you feel like helping out so that the changes page doesn't look so sad, apply. We have Delicious Chocolate Cake.

Dual Spec

Dual-specs, questions for the devs - Source

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If you mean will respec costs be changed permanently, no. If you mean will the costs be reset or will you get a free respec when this goes live, possibly.

Our thought at the moment is that swapping specs (going from A to B) will truly be free in towns and possibly during the prep phase of PvP. In an instance it may cost a nominal fee (think reagent level). We want you to be able to do it when you want to do it, but we also don't want to slow things down if everyone is constantly flipping spec from fight to fight. But if it's free in town, then obviously it can't be more of a burden out of town than just hearthing and being summoned back is or nobody will use the remote option.

WotLK

New World of Warcraft Milestones - Source

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Since the launch of Wrath of the Lich King last month, millions of players around the world have stormed the shores of Borean Tundra and Howling Fjord. In fact, more than 4 million copies of the new expansion were sold in the first month of release – a new record for PC-game sales.

To go along with that record, World of Warcraft’s global community has now grown to more than 11.5 million subscribers. Read more about these latest achievements in the official press release, and from all of us at Blizzard Entertainment, happy holidays, thank you for taking World of Warcraft to new heights, and enjoy your time in Northrend!

Warlocks

Warlock PVP: What I don't want - Source

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That is the goal. I think we've done better at Affliction wanting the felhunter, Destruction wanting the imp and Demonology wanting the felguard, at least in PvE. We would like to get the succubus and voidwalker into Arenas more. We have some ideas....

On fear....

We still like the change to how fear works overall. Because it can be broken it's less of a long-term CC, but it's also more consistent in the short-term.

However, I think a lot of the consternation about warlock PvP comes from losing fear as an amazing source of CC (probably replaced by stuns now which probably isn't a good thing), coupled with losing some of the "tankiness" locks had before, but without giving you all of the get out of jail cards that a mage has.

Ultimately I think we actually do want locks to survive through mitigation (when compared to survival through CC or escape mechanisms). The trick is nailing this compromise between plate-wearers who stand and take it and glass cannons who run away. There is probably something to the fact that locks and hunters both feel like they can't stand and fight and can't get away from melee. It's the mail-wearer paradox. I know you don't wear mail per se, but we're pushing you closer to that than we are the slippery mage

Melee

DK Tier 7 DPS: Please re-evaulate it Blizz - Source

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We are looking at the benefits of haste (or lack thereof) for all melee right now. If anything there aren't enough stats available to make items distinct, so rather than swap out a less desirable stat with a more desirable one, we'd rather make the less desirable one desirable.

Blues, World....Last? Posted By chaud at 12-20-2008 02:05 PM.

World Last

I am sure it will show on armory shortly. Over a month since WotLK launch and a death knight earned a Realm First for level 80 Orc. That speaks wonders about the Horde Population on Silvermoon EU.



General

Im fed up. Fix your game or everyone is done. - Source

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Try to remember back to the Burning Crusade when players looked like multi-colored rainbows. Their gear was entirely mix-matched and there were many complaints about the experience and leveling in such garb. With Lich King, this problem has been largely eliminated. As you level, you collect gear that fits nicely together and helps to create a more whole look.

Yes, we're aware of the issue with Wintergrasp and latency. We're working on it as we speak.