Blizzard delivers!

Quote from Blizzard staff
Loot from clams now stacks correctly!

Finally! Solid patch 3.1 change.

Blizzard listens (times two)

In a short period of time, Blizzard have shown that they listen to player feedback.

First the "ghetto hearthing" trick will be nerfed in patch 3.1. That is, the trick to leave a group in an instance to get teleported to your inn. There are probably more names for this trick than there are WoW game servers, since it's more like an exploit than a feature. It's just that it has grown to be viewed as a feature. Because of the magnitude of which the trick was used (and because of the outcry!), Blizzard figured they can now cut the cooldown of the ordinary hearthstone by half. So it's not all bad!

Second: The dual spec feature was included from the start in the PTR. Since then, and before that for that matter, many have complained about the lvl 80 req on the feature. Well guess what, Blizzard gave in. They didn't lower it to what I would have guessed, lvl 60 or 70, but as low as lvl 40. The cost for this feature will stay at 1000g though, leaving it for seasoned players and their twink alts. A fine decision if you ask me.

Current PTR status: Live

The PTR for patch 3.1 is finally up and running! You can see many of the changes, but not all, in the patch notes. Undocumented changes can be found on MMO-Champion. The list is too long for me to comment on it all, but I'll probably highlight notes over time.

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PTR Forums now Open + Character Copy Available

The much awaited content patch for WoW is one step closer to being released. The other day the PTR forum opened up and also character copy became available. This suggests that the PTR might be available for testing early next week. So copy your characters now if you want to be part of the lag-o-rama from the start!

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Dual Spec on the Horizon

The long awaited ability to set up two seperate sets of talents, also known as dual spec, will be added with the upcomming content patch. Well, if everything goes according to plan that is. Blizzard have released a Q&A where Senior Game Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street answer a few questions about the new feature. In this post I'll quote parts of the Q&A and then comment on the answer GC give us.


Nethaera: Who will be able to use it?
Ghostcrawler: Players who have reached the maximum level will be able to set up dual specs.

I know that this isn't set in stone, and that they might expand the feature to include characters leveling up, but I think this is too restrictive. Personally I would allow players to get this ability at lvl 70 to begin with, and expand down to lvl 60 if deemed possible. Also make the ability WotLK only.


Nethaera: Why do players need to be max level in order to do this?
Ghostcrawler: We didn’t want to burden lower-level players with extra complexity as they’re working to level up and learn their class. But if the feature proves popular we might consider expanding it.

You are seriously underestimating your players. Besides, it's not like it's mandatory to get a second spec. If you think it's too complicated then you can wait with getting it.


Nethaera: How do you switch between specs?
Ghostcrawler: Players will be able to switch between their talent specs by visiting any Lexicon of Power provided they’ve paid for the ability to have a secondary spec. Lexicons of Power will be available in major cities, and inscribers will also be able to create a new item that summons one. Anyone can purchase this item, but it requires a ritual of several players to summon it for use by the party. It’s similar to a repair bot in that it will exist in the world for a short duration. It’s important to keep in mind that you will not be able to switch specs while in combat or Arenas. While you won’t be able to switch your spec without the Lexicon, you will still be able to look at your secondary spec whenever you want to.

Seem like a good solution to be honest. Would be cool if Lexicons of Power could be added in Shattrath and Dalaran. Raiders having to take a detour to Azeroth every time it's raid time (or raid end) would be annoying. Letting inscribers create items capable of summoning lexicons is cool. Professions in general could use some more service opportunities like this. The item could perhaps summon a sealed tome of sorts. If three party/raid members channel at the same time it unlocks and become a Lexicon of Power. Duration/Cooldown...10 minutes perhaps? It gives the raid plenty of time to respec for a boss encounter, defeat the encounter and then spec back afterwards.


Nethaera: Is the item that allows you to summon a Lexicon of Power reusable, or is it used up?
Ghostcrawler: We haven’t made a final decision on that yet, and will be evaluating how it works on the PTR.

Tough call. Both would work really. Reusuable equals more of an achievement for the character, while one time use mean more business opportunities for inscriptors. I'm leaning towards reusuable myself, with some hard to get materials.

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Class Change Highlights

As we all know Blizzard are working hard on the new content patch, patch 3.1. A week ago some highlights were released, focusing on class changes. These were almost exclusively changes that would be described as buffs. I'm guessing Blizzard want to get the ruthless forum mob in a good mood before releasing any details about nerfs. ;)

Jokes aside, there's some really nice stuff in that list, so go have a look if you haven't already.

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Next time I post it will probably be about the dual spec announcement.