5 Things about 4.0.1 that I never had the time to news
Because, I really have to get them on the front page at some point.
Raid Testing Videos
More videos of the new raid instances have been released following yesterday's raid testing.
Class Balance & Hotfixes - 10/19
Originally Posted by Zarhym (Source)
We have pushed a hotfix to improve hunter damage.
Specifically, we increased the damage of the signature abilities (Chimera Shot, Explosive Shot and Kill Command) by 15-25%. This will both improve overall damage-dealing and make sure that these abilities are prioritized higher than other shots. We think this will bring hunters to a good enough state until they hit 85. Aspect of the Fox and Cobra Shot solve some specific issues at higher levels. Marksman hunters may still trump Survival and Beastmaster hunters until they?re 85, since their rotations rely a little on Cobra Shot.
EU Raid Testing on Beta
Originally Posted by Daelo (Source)
Don't worry, EU can test these bosses tomorrow! I'm not going to turn them off right at 10am our time, I'll keep them up through most all of the day tomorrow.
On a seperate note, 25 player Maloriak currently has a significant bug in place. We're working on a hotfix, but until that goes live it's not functioning properly. 10 player seems to be much better behaved, but we're looking at a despawn issue with it.
Atramedes is testable.
BlizzCon 2010 Registration Bar Codes
Originally Posted by Lylirra (Source)
We are currently in the process of resending all BlizzCon 2010 registration bar codes. Now, don't panic?this is simply for your convenience. These bar codes are identical to those included in previous emails and the printable versions from your Battle.net order history.
Please be sure to bring a copy of your bar code along with a photo ID to pick up your ticket(s) at BlizzCon registration. We'll see you there!
Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Armor changes in 4.0.1
We looked into your findings, and the armor numbers reflect an intentional change meant to cover the armor increases players would get between levels 81 and 85. We should have been more explicit with the rest of the announced Cataclysm changes that physical damage would go up. (It only affects creatures higher than level 80 -- bosses in this case -- so this change has no current PvP ramifications.)
Now that our live class balance changes are slowing down* and players are starting to learn their class changes, we can get a better idea of whether players are struggling more on content that they used to be able to clear. We've made some Icecrown and Halion changes already and we may need to make more.
Nice job on the analysis.
* -- We are continuing to make Cataclysm changes for classes. We will extend these to level 80 and / or hotfix when we think it's relevant. (Source)
Resilience Hotfix
My resilience post above was confusing.
We had buffed resilience by 50% and then lowered it by 25%. This is a 12.5% buff from before the patch. To use clean numbers, if you had 40% damage reduction, we buffed it to 60% (a 50% increase) and then lowered it to 45% (a 25% decrease). (Source)
Balance in low-level BGs
So can a blue state whether or not the very, very high damage outputs in low level pvp will be addressed or not? Rogues able to one-shot most enemies in sub-80 pvp: working as intended, or not?
Nobody should be one-shotting at any battleground level, so yes that (and many other class abilities) will be addressed. (Source)
Mage (Forums / Cataclysm Talent Calculator / Beta Skills/Talents)
Weak mages on Beta
This is a case of having to balance differently between 80 and 85. The original mage numbers were targeted at 85, which made them overpowered at 80. We nerfed them at 80, which then made them weak at 85. We now have two sets of numbers in place so that they should be relatively balanced at both levels.
Mages are not the only class with this problem, sometimes in the opposite direction. (Source)
Paladin (Forums / Cataclysm Talent Calculator / Beta Skills/Talents)
Holy Paladin Hotfix
Yes, we buffed the 5 paladin direct heals (FoL, HL, DL, HS, WoG). This is a change for both level 80 and 85. We are going to tone down Holy Radiance as I described in the other thread. It can be powerful without being 75% of paladin healing.
I know it's customary for players to classify everything as either overpowered or garbage, but we believe there are actual numbers in between say 1 and 100, so give the changes a chance before you dismiss them.
It is possible we will nerf Word of Glory for Prot and Ret at 85 to compensate for this buff since they probably don't need stronger Words. (Source)
More...
Because, I really have to get them on the front page at some point.
- Epic gems cooldown aren't removed, they're just syncronized with the daily quest reset now.
- You can farm Anzu in heroic Sethekk Halls for his epic mount even if you're not a druid.
- You can buy most of Arena gear even if you do not have the proper rating, requirements seems to be gone from all items. ilvl 277 weapons are the only items left with a rating requirement.
- The gold cap is now 1,000,000 Gold.
- I don't actually have a 5th one, so here is a hug. /hug
Raid Testing Videos
More videos of the new raid instances have been released following yesterday's raid testing.
Class Balance & Hotfixes - 10/19
Originally Posted by Zarhym (Source)
We have pushed a hotfix to improve hunter damage.
Specifically, we increased the damage of the signature abilities (Chimera Shot, Explosive Shot and Kill Command) by 15-25%. This will both improve overall damage-dealing and make sure that these abilities are prioritized higher than other shots. We think this will bring hunters to a good enough state until they hit 85. Aspect of the Fox and Cobra Shot solve some specific issues at higher levels. Marksman hunters may still trump Survival and Beastmaster hunters until they?re 85, since their rotations rely a little on Cobra Shot.
EU Raid Testing on Beta
Originally Posted by Daelo (Source)
Don't worry, EU can test these bosses tomorrow! I'm not going to turn them off right at 10am our time, I'll keep them up through most all of the day tomorrow.
On a seperate note, 25 player Maloriak currently has a significant bug in place. We're working on a hotfix, but until that goes live it's not functioning properly. 10 player seems to be much better behaved, but we're looking at a despawn issue with it.
Atramedes is testable.
BlizzCon 2010 Registration Bar Codes
Originally Posted by Lylirra (Source)
We are currently in the process of resending all BlizzCon 2010 registration bar codes. Now, don't panic?this is simply for your convenience. These bar codes are identical to those included in previous emails and the printable versions from your Battle.net order history.
Please be sure to bring a copy of your bar code along with a photo ID to pick up your ticket(s) at BlizzCon registration. We'll see you there!
Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Armor changes in 4.0.1
We looked into your findings, and the armor numbers reflect an intentional change meant to cover the armor increases players would get between levels 81 and 85. We should have been more explicit with the rest of the announced Cataclysm changes that physical damage would go up. (It only affects creatures higher than level 80 -- bosses in this case -- so this change has no current PvP ramifications.)
Now that our live class balance changes are slowing down* and players are starting to learn their class changes, we can get a better idea of whether players are struggling more on content that they used to be able to clear. We've made some Icecrown and Halion changes already and we may need to make more.
Nice job on the analysis.
* -- We are continuing to make Cataclysm changes for classes. We will extend these to level 80 and / or hotfix when we think it's relevant. (Source)
Resilience Hotfix
My resilience post above was confusing.
We had buffed resilience by 50% and then lowered it by 25%. This is a 12.5% buff from before the patch. To use clean numbers, if you had 40% damage reduction, we buffed it to 60% (a 50% increase) and then lowered it to 45% (a 25% decrease). (Source)
Balance in low-level BGs
So can a blue state whether or not the very, very high damage outputs in low level pvp will be addressed or not? Rogues able to one-shot most enemies in sub-80 pvp: working as intended, or not?
Nobody should be one-shotting at any battleground level, so yes that (and many other class abilities) will be addressed. (Source)
Weak mages on Beta
This is a case of having to balance differently between 80 and 85. The original mage numbers were targeted at 85, which made them overpowered at 80. We nerfed them at 80, which then made them weak at 85. We now have two sets of numbers in place so that they should be relatively balanced at both levels.
Mages are not the only class with this problem, sometimes in the opposite direction. (Source)
Holy Paladin Hotfix
Yes, we buffed the 5 paladin direct heals (FoL, HL, DL, HS, WoG). This is a change for both level 80 and 85. We are going to tone down Holy Radiance as I described in the other thread. It can be powerful without being 75% of paladin healing.
I know it's customary for players to classify everything as either overpowered or garbage, but we believe there are actual numbers in between say 1 and 100, so give the changes a chance before you dismiss them.
It is possible we will nerf Word of Glory for Prot and Ret at 85 to compensate for this buff since they probably don't need stronger Words. (Source)
More...
