Arcane Brilliance in Pandaria Beta

Arcane Brilliance: A first look at fire mages in Mists of Pandaria

by Josh Myers Apr 7th 2012 at 2:00PM

Pyroblasting the third boss of Temple of the Jade Serpent
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Arcane Brilliance for arcane, fire and frost mages. This column is usually brought to you Christian Belt, rumored to be the actual chief sorcerer of King Arthur’s court. Unfortunately, Morgan Le Fay seems to have cursed him with her most powerful spell: a full-time job. Resultingly, Senior Understudy and Last Surviving Student Josh Myers is covering his class this week. Arm your spitballs.

I’ve been a busy bee in the past day I’ve had Mists of Pandaria beta access. Beyond getting some testing in on the windwalker monk, playing my elemental shaman so I could write this week’s Totem Talk, and getting Savior of Azeroth on my main, I spent a hefty amount of the day today playing Magelam on the beta Gilneas server. I’ve had a love/hate relationship with the fire spec since DS launched, as RNG and I have never been good friends. If we were members of the Dawson’s Creek cast, I’d be Pacey Witter and RNG would be every female character he ever encounters. We don’t get along. Don’t be ashamed if you understood this metaphor; be ashamed of me for writing it.

With that in mind, I went in to test fire out on the PTR. I joined some friends from and a few puggers to try and run the Temple of the Jade Serpent, which we actually streamed from a mistweaver monk’s point of view. (Note that the actual temple stream starts at about 43 minutes into the stream, so start there if you want to check it out). We managed to defeat it all, despite what seemed to be a very painful bug that made one boss fight last nearly 15 minutes — but it gave me some excellent testing time with the fire spec.

Almost immediately, I noticed two things I disliked. First off, it’s still incredibly RNG-dependent, as there definitely were minute-long fights with me receiving no Hot Streak procs. Second, there’s no more Blast Wave, which makes me incredibly sad. I liked my instant-cast AOE slow, and I will miss it. With those two dislikes out of the way, however, there’s a lot more about playing a fire mage in Mists of Pandaria that I do actually enjoy.

What I really enjoyed

First off, I believe I mentioned last week that my absolute favorite mage spec is frost, and if I could play that in PVE full time, I’d probably play my mage all the time. Part of my love for that is Shatter, which is just such a fun ability … and it’s available to every single mage spec in Mists of Pandaria. This means happy fun times of dropping Ring of Frost on a group of adds, hitting one with a Pyroblast, and Combustioning off of that. It’s all the fun of PVP fire in a PVE spec, which just made it fun. Of course, it’s not going to be at all useful on boss fights, but who cares about those, anyway?

New notification for first crit towards hot streak
For one of the first big changes, Blizzard has made a small change that should improve the quality of life of fire mages everywhere. Hot Streak now has a new, smaller spell animation to signify when you have the first stack of Hot Streak. Due to Inferno Blast’s 100% chance to critically hit, you can actually force a Hot Streak proc any time you get your first crit, and you’ll know you have by this new notification. I don’t know for sure if it will be a DPS increase to force the Hot Streak with Inferno Blast’s inferior damage or to just try another nuke cast, but that’s something that we’ll figure out in time. For now, I’m just glad to see fire getting some nice quality of life changes to make the RNG easier to deal with.

Speaking of Combustion, it happens to be incredibly fun on the beta, mainly because I’m still wearing my full tier 13 set. Due to its now having a 45-second cooldown, a full stack of Stolen Time reduces the cooldown to zero, allowing you to use back to back Combustions, and then do it again 45 seconds later when you stack Stolen Time again. Or, if you’re feeling really feisty, you can actually glyph Combustion, giving you a 20-second-long Combustion on a 40-second cooldown, provided you have RNG on your side and can stack Stolen Time up in 20 seconds. Don’t count on that, though. Regardless, this is only going to be pertinent for the first level or two of MoP content, but will be fun while it lasts.

More assistance for the RNG-deprived

While I still have issues with fire’s overwhelming crit dependence and how much I positively hate the Hot Streak mechanic, there are some positive changes to help with our RNG dependence. First off, Ignite no longer procs off crits; it’s just constantly applied every time you hit with one of your casted nukes or Inferno Blast. Inferno Blast is also the MoP answer to Impact, allowing you to spread your DoTs whenever you choose without relying on a proc.

You still will likely fish for Pyroblast crits for Ignite before you use Combustion on a single target, as Combustion’s damage takes both your Pyroblast and Ignite damage into account. However, if you have multiple targets, you’ll be able to wind up a Pyroblast to get its DoT and Ignite rolling, then Combustion, then spread Combustion with Inferno Blast without needing to try and fish for procs. This will make fire AoE a lot more consistent for fights like heroic Yor’sahj.

New flamestrike spell effect
And since I mentioned AoE and whined about Blast Wave in the same article, it’d be bad form if I didn’t talk about one of the cool new changes to fire AoE: Flamestrike. It’s very possible that this is a side effect of my playing on a higher graphic setting on beta, but from what I can tell, Flamestrike has a new spell effect, and it looks incredible. And painful. It looks actually harmful to stand in, which is kind of what I expect when I call down a pillar of fire on my enemies.

All in all, fire on the beta is a really enjoyable spec and a real improvement over live. Much as I feel about elemental shaman on the beta, I think Blizzard has done a great job of introducing subtle, good but not groundbreaking modifications. The spec has retained its flavor, and nothing totally game-changing has been added, but a lot of small stuff has been tweaked or changed in a meaningful way

**Note I do not take credit for this article m in whole. I thought it was a good one so I re-posted it here for you guys.**

http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/07/arcane-brilliance-a-first-look-at-fire-mages-in-mists-of-pandar/

Hunters Get Epic Trait

As part of the Mists of Pandaria press tour, Lead Systems Designer Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street has revealed that hunters will be getting a new level 87 ability that will let them bring out their stable of five pets all at once as a long-cooldown DPS burst ability. Here is the full quote from the MMO-C interview:

I don’t think we have talked about what we are doing for the hunter yet. I think a lot of hunter players have guessed it but the hunter level 87 ability is basically you get all your pets at once for a short amount of time. So if you have 5 pets in your stable, they all come out and do damage for a little bit of time, and that’s really fun cooldown for them. I think it increases Beast Master’s damage by 80% while they’re out, or something ridiculous like that. That’s a pretty fun one.

This “Stampede” ability is one that the hunter community has been requesting for years and should provide a valuable burst DPS cooldown that will serve the class well in both PvE and PvP. We have yet to get confirmation that this ability will be available to all hunter specs, but since Ghostcrawler referred to it as a hunter ability rather than a beast mastery ability, it seems likely to be a class baseline ability that enables every hunter spec to unleash a frenzy of rabid death into their opponents’ faces.

Creating My First Pandarian

 

Welcome to my beta Experience

This will discuss my feelings getting to Beta Test World of Warcraft’s latest expansion. I will update this article as I go and I will add information about the game itself.
But remember what is said about whats happening in the Beta Test may not reflect what will be in the live finished product.

Creation of A Pandarian
And Yes I picked the Monk Class

When you first begin the creation of you Pandarian you get to choose the class that you would like to try. I picked the Monk class its the newest to World of Warcraft so I thought I would try it out. it is good to see that in the character creation page they have the preview panels for each look instead of having to keep hitting an arrow to get to the next look. Also I will say this the Pandarian females have more looks to choose from however that might change for the males once the game goes live.
I believe the character creation has been simplified and I like that. So far the Monk class is pretty cool you get to use mostly martial art skills to crush the critters that are running around the new area.

Now the down side is that with the Pandarian’s being new to World of Warcraft some of the beta servers are swamped. But if you get a beta invite I would highly suggest you try it out.

Why “Old School” Gaming Amplifies an Online RPG Experience | Writinghood

Why “Old School” Gaming Amplifies an Online RPG Experience | Writinghood.

World of Warcraft Patch 4.3.2 – World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm patch 4.3.2 is now available on all realms! Below you’ll find the official patch notes.Notes for all World of Warcraft patches can be found here.Table of Contents Classes Dungeons and Raids Items User InterfaceClasses: General Vengeance is no longer triggered by receiving damage from other players.Druids The Tier 13 Balance Druid 4-piece bonus now also increases the damage of Starsurge by 10%, in addition to its current effect.Hunters Aspect of the Hawk now grants roughly 35% more attack power. Deterrence now also reduces damage taken by 30% while active. Black Arrow now ticks every 2 seconds for 20 seconds, as opposed to every 3 seconds for 15 seconds. The total damage dealt by the ability is unchanged. Lock and Load no longer benefits Arcane Shot, nor is it consumed by Arcane Shot.Mages Fireball damage has been reduced by roughly 6%. Pyroblast initial damage has been reduced by roughly 6%. Damage over time is unchanged.Paladins Holy Radiance now costs 40% of base mana, up from 35%.Priests Mass Dispel should again prefer dispelling targets that have magic effects that can be dispelled.Rogues Adrenaline Rush no longer triggers a global cooldown.Dungeons & Raids You can now form same-faction raids with Real ID friends, allowing you to enter Raid Finder in groups larger than 5, run older normal or heroic raids, or participate in Battlegrounds. You will not yet be able to run normal or heroic Dragon Soul with cross-realm raids of Real ID friends. Several typo fixes and clarified descriptions have been added to the Dungeon Journal entries for Dragon Soul. Players no longer benefit from a role-based need bonus on the second of multiple copies of the same item on a single Raid Finder boss kill. For example, a player who chooses Need on two set piece tokens or two weapons and wins the first will only automatically roll 1-100 for the second from that particular boss. Baradin Hold o The roaming Eyes of Occu’thar have been replaced by hateful creatures who serve Alizabal. Dragon Soul o Yor’sahj the Unsleeping + The Shaman spell Unleash Life now properly only triggers Deep Corruption on its target. Previously, this affected both the caster and the target. o Warmaster Blackhorn + The visual warning for Twilight Elites’ Blade Rush should be easier to see. o Spine of Deathwing + Burning Tendons health has been reduced by 15% in 10- and 25-player Heroic mode. This change eases the burst damage requirement to complete the encounter, which should allow players to make use of more varied raid compositions. o Madness of Deathwing + The Priest spell Leap of Faith is no longer usable while under the effect of Carrying Winds.Items Vial of Shadows damage Lightning Strike has been reduced to approximately one-third of previous damage. However, it will now trigger approximately 3 times as often. This is intended to keep overall DPS the same while reducing burst damage, especially in PvP. Maw of the Dragonlord can now have its effect triggered by healing from Holy Word: Sanctuary.User Interface Fixed a bug that caused the Mature Language Filter to reset on exit. A notice is now displayed 15 minutes prior to the player being disconnected by parental controls

via World of Warcraft Patch 4.3.2 – World of Warcraft.

WoW Patch 4.3 Arrives

Today is tuesday downtimes for WoW but in this case it is a release of some major content in Wold of Warcraft patch 4.3 The Twilight Hour.

* New Dungeon & Raid Content
o End Time is now available for testing. Your participation and feedback here is appreciated.
o Hour of Twilight is now available for testing. Your participation and feedback here is appreciated.
o Well of Eternity is now available for testing. Your participation and feedback here is appreciated.
o The new Baradin Hold boss, Alizabal, is now available for testing. Your participation and feedback here is appreciated.
o Dragon Soul is now available for testing. Your participation and feedback is appreciated. For the latest testing schedule, please visit the PTR Discussion forum here.
* Raid Finder
o This new grouping feature allows players to quickly and easily form a pick-up raid for a specially tuned version of the current tier of endgame content: the Dragon Soul raid. Raid Finder is now available for testing. Your participation and feedback here is appreciated.
* Transmogrification
o This new feature allows players to customize their gear like never before. You’ll find Transmogrification, Void Storage, and Reforging vendors in Cathedral Square, Stormwind and The Drag, Orgrimmar. The costs associated with this service are not yet final.
* Void Storage
o In addition to the bank, players will now have access to a new “deep storage” system, allowing characters to free bag space by setting aside coveted gear. You’ll find Transmogrification, Void Storage, and Reforging vendors in Cathedral Square, Stormwind and The Drag, Orgrimmar. The costs associated with this service are not yet final.
* Reforging
o The former Reforging vendors have been… retired. The ethereals have chosen to take over the business and joined their Transmogrification and Void Storage service providers. You’ll find them in Cathedral Square, Stormwind and The Drag, Orgrimmar.
* Outland & Northrend Quest Flow
o The amount of experience needed to gain levels 71 through 80 has been reduced by approximately 33%.
o Many Group quests in Outland and Northrend have been re-tuned to allow players to complete them solo. They are no longer labeled as Group quests.
o Relevant questgivers have been moved into Outland and Northrend dungeons. The majority of dungeon quests for these zones are now available from within their respective dungeons.
* North American realms (excluding Brazilian, Latin American, and Oceanic realms) no longer permit letters with accents in character or guild names. Existing character and guild names with special characters will be unaffected by this change.

Achievements Edit

* The achievement Master of Alterac Valley no longer requires the Alterac Valley Blitz achievement.
* The achievement Tol Barad Veteran now requires 25 victories in Tol Barad, down from 100.

Classes: General Edit

* All raid and party buffs which grant group members 10% increased attack power have been changed slightly. They continue to provide 10% increased ranged attack power, but now provide 20% increased melee attack power.
o Abomination’s Might: The melee attack power bonus from this raid buff has been increased to 10/20%, up from 5/10%. The ranged attack power bonus remains 5/10%.
o Blessing of Might: The melee attack power bonus from this raid buff has been increased to 20%, up from 10%. The ranged attack power bonus remains 10%.
o Runescroll of Might: The melee attack power bonus from this consumable has been increased to 16%, up from 8%. The ranged attack power bonus remains 8%.
o Trueshot Aura: The melee attack power bonus from this raid buff has been increased to 20%, up from 10%. The ranged attack power bonus remains 10%.
o Unleashed Rage: The melee attack power bonus from this raid buff has been increased to 10/20%, up from 5/10%. The ranged attack power bonus remains 5/10%.
* Vengeance for Protection warriors, Protection paladins, Blood death knights, and Feral druids has been redesigned slightly. It no longer ramps up slowly at the beginning of a fight. Instead, the first melee attack taken by the tank generates Vengeance equal to 33% of the damage taken by that attack. In addition, as it updates periodically during the fight, it’s always set to at least 33% of the damage taken by the tank in the last 2 seconds. It still climbs from that point at the rate it did previously, still decays when damage is not taken, and still cannot exceed a maximum based on the health and Stamina of the tank.
* Threat generated by classes in active tanking modes has been increased to 500% damage done, up from 300%. This applies to druids in Bear Form, death knights in Blood Presence, warriors in Defensive Stance, and paladins with Righteous Fury active.
* Spells which have an effect broken by taking damage past a threshold (Entangling Roots, Fear, Frost Nova, etc.) now count damage that was prevented by damage absorbs or other damage reducing effects.

Death Knights Edit

* Death Strike now heals the death knight whether or not the attack misses, or is dodged/parried. As a result of this change, Death Strike no longer refunds its rune cost if it fails to hit the target, as the death knight will still receive the healing effect.
* Blood Presence now provides an armor bonus of 55%, up from 30%.
* Death Knight pets now properly inherit their master’s crit and spell penetration stats.
* Talent Specializations
o Blood
+ Blade Barrier has been redesigned. It now passively reduces damage taken.
+ Bone Shield now has 6 charges, up from 4.
+ Veteran of the Third War now reduces the cooldown of Outbreak by 30 seconds.
o Unholy
+ Unholy Might now increases Strength by 25%, up from 20%.
+ The gargoyle called by Summon Gargoyle should exclusively use its ranged attack regardless of range to the target.

Druids Edit

* Wrath has a new spell effect.
* Hurricane has a new updated visual effect.
* Swipe (Cat) has been reduced to 340% weapon damage, down from 415%.
* Bear Form now provides an armor bonus of 120% at all levels, up from 65% for characters below level 40, making it easier for lower level druids to tank dungeons.
* Bear Form now provides a Stamina bonus of 20%, up from 10%.
* Talent Specializations
o Balance
+ Celestial Focus now also reduces Cyclone spell pushback.
o Restoration
+ Wild Growth healing has been reduced by 20%.
+ Nature’s Focus now also reduces Cyclone and Entangling Roots spell pushback.
+ Glyphs
o Glyph of Shred has been renamed Glyph of Bloodletting, and now also causes Mangle (Cat) to extend the duration of Rip, in addition to its existing Shred functionality.
o Glyph of Wild Growth now also increases the cooldown on Wild Growth by 2 seconds.

Hunters Edit

* Monstrous Bite now reduces the target’s healing received by 25%, up from 10%.
* Talent Specializations
o Beast Mastery
+ Animal Handler now increases Attack Power by 30%, up from 25%.
+ Widow Venom now reduces the target’s healing received by 25%, up from 10%.
+ Burrow Attack now does approximately 20% more damage, and has an increased area of effect.
+ Froststorm Breath now does approximately 20% more damage, and has an increased area of effect.
o Survival
+ Explosive Shot damage has been increased by 15%

Mages Edit

* Pyroblast’s initial damage has been increased by approximately 26%, and its damage over time has been increased by approximately 100%.
* Fireball damage has been increased by approximately 17%.
* Talent Specializations
o Fire
+ Living Bomb damage over time has been increased by approximately 10%, and explosion damage has been increased by approximately 120%.

Paladins Edit

* Holy Radiance now has a 3.0-second cast time, no cooldown, and requires a player target. That target is imbued with Holy Radiance, which heals them and all group members within 10 yards instantly, and continues to heal them by a smaller amount every 1 second for 3 seconds.
* Seal of Insight, when Judged, no longer returns 15% base mana to the paladin. Judging Seal of Insight still causes damage, and melee attacks will still restore 4% of base mana.
* Seal of Truth, when Judged, now benefits from a multiplier of 20% per stack of Censure, up from 10%.
* Talent Specializations
o Holy
+ Clarity of Purpose now also reduces the cast time of Holy Radiance.
+ Illuminated Healing (mastery) now also applies to Holy Radiance.
+ Infusion of Light now applies its cast time reduction from Holy Shock critical effects to Holy Radiance, in addition to its current effects.
+ In addition to providing haste, the effect from Judgements of the Pure now increases mana regeneration from Spirit by 10/20/30% for 60 seconds.
+ Light of Dawn now affects 6 targets (base effect), up from 5.
+ Paragon of Virtue now lowers the cooldown of Divine Protection by 15/30 seconds, up from 10/20 seconds.
+ Speed of Light no longer triggers from Holy Radiance and no longer lowers the Holy Radiance cooldown. Speed of Light now only triggers from Divine Protection.
+ Tower of Radiance, in addition to its current effects, now also causes Holy Radiance to always generate 1 charge of Holy Power at all times.
+ Beacon of Light is triggered by Word of Glory, Holy Shock, Flash of Light, Divine Light and Light of Dawn at 50% transference and Holy Light at 100% transference. It does not transfer Holy Radiance, Protector of the Innocent or other sources of healing.
o Retribution
+ Sanctified Retribution now increases the critical hit chance of Hammer of Wrath by 2/4/6%, down from 20/40/60%.
* Two-Handed Weapon Specialization (passive) now increases damage by 25%, up from 20%.
* Glyphs
o Glyph of Light of Dawn now lowers the number of targets to 4, instead of increasing targets to 6, but increases healing by 25%.

Priests Edit

* Divine Hymn now affects 5 targets, up from 3.
* Talent Specializations
o Discipline
+ Atonement will now account for the target enemy’s combat reach when calculating proper range, enabling it to be used on large creatures such as Ragnaros and Ala’kir.
+ Divine Aegis has a new spell effect.
o Holy
+ Spirit of Redemption has been rebuilt to address a few functionality issues and make it more responsive. Spirit of Redemption otherwise remains unchanged.
+ State of Mind has been redesigned and is now called Heavenly Voice. Heavenly Voice increases the healing done by Divine Hymn by 50/100%, and reduces the cooldown of Divine Hymn by 2.5/5 minutes.
+ Guardian Spirit’s healing bonus has been increased to 60%, up from 40%.
+ Holy Word: Serenity now has a cooldown of 10 seconds, down from 15 seconds.
* Glyphs
o Glyph of Circle of Healing now also increases the mana cost of Circle of Healing by 20%.

Rogues Edit

* Wound Poison now reduces the target’s healing received by 25%, up from 10%.

Shaman Edit

* Flametongue Weapon no longer increases spell damage. It now increases all non-physical damage done by the wielder by 5%.
* Lightning Bolt has a new spell effect.
* Wind Shear’s base cooldown has been adjusted to 15 seconds, up from 6 seconds.
* Talent Specializations
o Elemental
+ Call of Flame no longer causes Fire Nova to extend the duration of Flame Shock.
+ Earthquake damage has been increased by roughly 75%.
+ Elemental Fury now removes the cooldown from Chain Lightning.
+ Reverberation now reduces the cooldown of Wind Shear by 5/10 seconds, up from 0.5/1 second.
+ Shamanism now increases the spell power benefit to Lightning Bolt, Lava Burst, and Chain Lightning by 36%, up from 32%.
o Enhancement
+ Improved Lava Lash now causes Lava Lash to spread a Flame Shock debuff from the target to up to 4 nearby targets. This excludes crowd-controlled targets and those who already have a Flame Shock debuff from the shaman.
+ Improved Lava Lash no longer increases base Lava Lash damage by 15/30%. This increase has been rolled into the base Lava Lash skill.
+ Mental Quickness has been redesigned. Instead of granting the shaman spell power, Mental Quickness now causes Enhancement shaman spells to behave as though the shaman has spell power equal to 55% of attack power. Enhancement shaman spells no longer benefit from spell power from other sources.
+ Maelstrom Weapon can now also proc from fully absorbed melee attacks.
o Restoration
+ Ancestral Healing now also causes the shaman’s heals to increase the target’s maximum health by 5/10% of the amount healed, up to a maximum of 10% of the target’s maximum health, for 15 seconds. This effect does not stack if multiple Restoration shaman are present, and does not apply to heals from procs.
+ Riptide’s periodic healing coefficient has been increased by 50%. The initial direct heal is unchanged.

Warlocks Edit

* Shadow Bolt has a new spell effect.
* Soul Fire now scales with 72.6% of spell power, up from 62.5%.
* The Voidwalker ability Suffering now works like the hunter pet talent Taunt.
* Talent Specializations
o Demonology
+ Demonic Knowledge now provides a damage bonus of 20%, up from 15%.
+ Master Demonologist now grants a base bonus of 20% 18.4% and 2.5%2.3% per mastery, up from 16% and 2% per mastery.
+ Impending Doom is now also activated by Soul Fire.
o Destruction
+ Cataclysm now increases Fire damage by 30%, up from 25%.
+ Fire and Brimstone now increases the damage of Incinerate and Chaos Bolt on Immolated targets by 5/10/15%, up from 2/4/6%.
+ Burning Embers now deals damage equal to 25/50% of Soul Fire and Imp’s Firebolt, up from 15/30%.
+ Burning Embers damage cap has been raised.
+ Shadowburn now deals Shadowflame damage, instead of Shadow damage.
+ Improved Soul Fire now lasts 20 sec, up from 15sec.
* Bug Fixes
o Fixed a bug that caused Doomguard and Infernal to benefit dramatically more than intended from Demonology Mastery.

Warriors Edit

* Charge (and related abilities) should now correctly path to a target even if the target moves during the Charge. This change should decrease the likelihood of the warrior Charging to a different location than the target.
* Slam now uses a new character attack animation.
* Colossus Smash now uses a new character attack animation.
* Talent Specializations
o Arms
+ Mortal Strike now reduces the target’s healing received by 25%, up from 10%.
o Fury
+ Dual Wield Specialization no longer increases Physical damage by 5%. It continues to increase off-hand attack damage by 25%.
+ Furious Attacks now reduces the target’s healing received by 25%, up from 10%.

Dungeons & Raids Edit

* Dungeon Journal entries have been added for the new dungeons: End Time, Well of Eternity, Hour of Twilight, and Dragon Soul.
* Players who use Dungeon Finder for a random Heroic dungeon will no longer be locked to that instance. Previously, players who entered an instance via the Random Dungeon option were then prohibited from queuing for that dungeon or entering the instance manually via the portal. Players should now always be able to complete a specific Heroic dungeon once per day regardless of any random dungeons completed.
* Ruins of Ahn’qiraj
o Bosses in Ruins of Ahn’qiraj now drop a rare-quality Scarab Coffer Key which can be used to open the Scarab Coffers found within. These keys are zone-bound to Ruins of Ahn’qiraj and have a 17-hour expiration. This change also applies to Greater Scarab Coffer Keys used to open Large Scarab Coffers.
* Zul’Gurub
o Players now only have to kill two of the four initial dungeon bosses (High Priest Venoxis, Broodlord Mandokir, High Priestess Kilnara, and Zanzil) to face Jin’do the Godbreaker.
* Zul’Aman
o Players now only have to kill two of the four Troll avatars before they may face Hex Lord Malacrass.

Guilds Edit

* Guild Standards are again useable in Firelands. Duration has been increased to 15 minutes, the effect has a 100 yard radius, and now affects dead players.

Items Edit

* Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa’s Rest: The chance for this item’s effect to be triggered has been reduced.

Races Edit

* The orc racial Blood Fury now increases spell power rather than only spell damage.

User Interface Edit

* Archaeology areas of interest will now show on the mini-map, in addition to the World Map.
* Bag Search
o A search field has been added to allow players to search bag, bank, guild bank, and Void Storage inventories for specific items.
* Guilds with inactive guild leaders can now usurp the leader under specific conditions.
o The way inactive guild leader replacement works is pretty straightforward. If a guild leader’s character is inactive for 30 days, a notification will appear in the Guild News & Events feed which can only be seen by guild members who are eligible to become the new guild leader. To determine eligibility, the game will look for the highest ranked character in the guild that’s logged on in the past week, and any guild member from that rank will be able to request guild leadership simply by clicking on the notification.

As with many actions in World of Warcraft, clicking on the notification will open up a confirmation window which, once accepted, will transition leadership from the inactive guild leader to the first player to request leadership. If guild leadership is changed, the old guild leader will be notified via email to his or her registered Battle.net address. While some players may need to log out and back in before their Guild tab will visually update, the change in leadership will be immediate, with all ranks and permissions remaining in-tact.

More information on this coming soon.
* The Reforging interface has been updated and improved.
* Quest Tracking areas or points of interest will now show on the mini-map, in addition to the World Map.
* The World Map now displays the expected character levels for each zone.
* Added a “promote everyone” checkbox that will automatically make all raid members, Raid assistants. This checkbox can be found in the Raid Frame and the Unit Frame “pull-out” tab.
* There are now commands for world markers & unit markers.
* Added new rotation, zoom, and pan controls are now available in all windows with player models in UI frames.
* Players can now unlearn profession specialization without unlearning the profession (Engineering & Alchemy).
* [Mac] Added functionality to allow using the Command key instead of the Control key on Apple keyboards. This can be enabled in Mac Options.
* [Mac] Added functionality to disable Mac OS system keyboard shortcuts so that they do not interfere with keyboard shortcuts in WoW. This can be enabled in Mac Options.
* Added a feature to interact with NPCs, game objects (mailbox, mining nodes, etc.), and corpses on left-click as well as right-click. There is now an option under Interface:Controls to turn this feature off.

Changes on Hollow’s End Horseman Run

My wife was excited to do her first Horseman Run but to her disappointment they changed it from being able to queue at level 78 you have to be level 85 only. I do no think this is fair to anybody under 85 who wants to do the run an I wrong in thinking this?

Tauren Race in World of Warcraft

For countless generations, the bestial tauren roamed the plains of the Barrens, hunted the mighty kodos, and sought the wisdom of their eternal goddess, the Earth Mother. Scattered across the land, the wandering tribes were united only by a common hatred for their sworn enemy, the marauding centaur. Seeking aid against the centaur, the chieftain, Cairne Bloodhoof, befriended Warchief Thrall and the other orcs, who had recently journeyed to Kalimdor.

With the orcs’ help, Cairne and his Bloodhoof tribe were able to drive back the centaur and claim the grasslands of Mulgore for their own. For the first time in hundreds of years, the tauren had a land to call their own. Upon the windswept mesa of Thunder Bluff, Cairne built a refuge for his people, where tauren of every tribe is welcome. Over time, the scattered tauren tribes united under Cairne’s rule. There are a few tribes who disagree about the direction their new nation should take, but all agree that Cairne is the wisest and best suited to lead them towards the future.

Though the noble tauren are peaceful in nature, the rites of the Great Hunt are venerated as the heart of their spiritual culture. Every tauren, warrior or otherwise, seeks identity both as a hunter and as a child of the Earth Mother. Having reached the age of maturity, you must test your skills in the wild and prove yourself in the Great Hunt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Info can be found at http://www.wowwiki.com/Tauren_%28playable%29

Draenei Race in World of Warcraft

Long before the fallen titan, Sargeras, unleashed his demonic Legion on Azeroth, he turned his baleful gaze upon the world of Argus and its highly intelligent inhabitants, the eredar. Believing that this magically gifted race would be a crucial component in his dark quest to undo all of creation, Sargeras contacted the eredar’s three leaders – Kil’jaeden, Archimonde, and Velen – and offered them knowledge and power in exchange for their loyalty.

Only Velen abstained, for he had seen a vision. In it, his people were transformed into hideous demons, and they joined the ranks of Sargeras’ Burning Legion: an army of unspeakable evil that would grow vast and decimate life on countless worlds. With the aid of the naaru, benevolent energy beings who had resolved to combat the fallen titan’s nihilistic crusade, Velen gathered other like-minded eredar and narrowly escaped Argus. Forever after, these renegades would call themselves the draenei, or “exiled ones.”

Kil’jaeden, who had loved Velen like a brother, was infuriated by the draenei’s flight from Argus and their ungrateful refusal of Sargeras’ offer. In retaliation, Kil’jaeden led the Legion’s armies on a relentless pursuit of the draenei throughout the cosmos. Eventually, Velen and his beleaguered people eluded their hunters and found sanctuary on a remote world that they would name Draenor, or “Exiles’ Refuge.” Having been instructed by the naaru in the ways of the Light, the draenei developed an extraordinary society on their new home and came to know the shamanistic orc clans native to Draenor.

Yet the draenei’s peaceful existence did not last. Upon discovering the renegades’ home, Kil’jaeden corrupted the noble orcs into a single, bloodthirsty force of destruction: the Horde. Blinded by rage, the orcs wreaked havoc upon the draenei, slaughtering over eighty percent of the race and forcing Velen and other survivors into hiding. Many draenei also mutated into lesser forms known as the Krokul, or “Broken,” after being exposed to the fel energies wielded by orc warlocks. Decades after the Horde’s genocidal campaign, the shaman Ner’zhul opened magical portals throughout Draenor, and the resulting magical stress tore the dying world apart.

In the wake of the calamity, what remained of Draenor – known henceforth as Outland – devolved into a battleground among the Burning Legion and other factions vying for control of the ruined landscape. To escape the mounting chaos, Velen and a number of his followers commandeered the Exodar, a satellite structure of the stunning naaru dimensional fortress named Tempest Keep. Using this craft to search for new allies, the draenei left Outland and later crash-landed upon the world of Azeroth.

Inspired by heroic tales of the Alliance and its victories against the Legion, the draenei sought out and pledged their loyalty to this courageous faction. Not long afterward, Velen and his noble refugees played a key role in urging the Alliance to invade Outland and disrupt the Legion’s nefarious activities. Armed with their unshakable faith in the Light, the draenei ventured to their embattled former home as steadfast members of the Alliance and defeated their ancient demonic rivals.

The return to Outland offered many draenei a chance to reconnect with their brethren who had been left behind. While some of Velen’s race chose to rebuild their society in the shattered land, the majority of draenei remained on Azeroth, vowing to uphold their commitment to the Alliance. Recently, Velen was granted a dire vision concerning a war between the forces of light and darkness that would take place on Azeroth. Thus, the draenei and their sage leader are now bravely preparing to stand against the shadow that they believe is fast approaching.

Start Location:Azuremyst Isle

Located off of the coast of northern Kalimdor, Azuremyst Isle is home to the draenei, refugees who fled Outland aboard the massive dimensional vessel named the Exodar. When the draenei crashed on Azeroth, powerful crystals from their vessel were scattered about Azuremyst Isle, mutating flora and fauna near the debris. Following the ill-fated landing, the draenei worked feverishly to find survivors and mend any damages inflicted on the isle due to their disastrous arrival. The draenei have since taken to the isle and established the remains of the Exodar as their base of power. Having suffered a long and arduous history of exile, the draenei are now resolved to give their lives in defense of Azuremyst Isle.

Home City:The Exodar

Once a satellite structure of the mighty Tempest Keep, the dimensional craft known as the Exodar was used by a group of draenei to escape their perilous home on Outland. After departing the shattered draenei world, the Exodar appeared above northern Kalimdor when a spectacular explosion ripped open the skies. The great vessel impacted on the shores of Azuremyst Isle, which has since become home to Outland’s refugee draenei. Following their dramatic landing, the draenei have utilized the remains of the Exodar to great effect, transforming it into a base of operations for their dealings on Azeroth.

Racial Mount:Elekk

The recent influx of different races to Outland, particularly the ethereals, has resulted in increased hunting of the native elekk of Nagrand for their prized tusks. Yet in addition to being seen as game, these massive beasts are also valued for their ability to act as mounts. When the draenei fled Outland aboard the Exodar, they carried with them a number of species, including tamed elekk. Upon landing on Azeroth, these tusked-creatures played a large role in helping the draenei establish themselves on their strange new home. While much of Azeroth’s own native wildlife has served other races as trustworthy mounts, the draenei still prefer the hearty and unyielding elekk above all else.

Leader:Prophet Velen

Alongside Kil’jaeden and Archimonde, the wise prophet Velen ruled over the eredar race on the world of Argus. Unlike his brethren, however, Velen was gifted with the ability to foresee events to come. Thus, soon after the dark titan, Sargeras, approached the three leaders with offerings of knowledge and power, Velen received a vision that his people would ultimately become members of the demonic Burning Legion. While Kil’jaeden and Archimonde readily allied with Sargeras, Velen instead gathered other wary eredar and found sanctuary on the world of Draenor with the help of the enigmatic naaru race.

Not long ago, a number of draenei resettled on Azeroth, hoping to put a halt to the Legion’s murderous activities in Outland. Sensing great courage in the Alliance, Velen and his followers pledged themselves to this noble faction. The strengthened Alliance then helped the draenei reclaim their former holdings from the Legion. Most recently, Velen used the heart of a fallen naaru to sanctify the blood elves’ tainted Sunwell, transforming the sacred fount into a source of holy and arcane energies. Although the Legion’s forces in Outland have been greatly diminished and the demonic invasion of Azeroth has been driven back, Velen remains fearful of an upcoming war between light and shadow.

Info can be found at http://www.wowwiki.com/Draenei_%28playable%29

Cyberbulling and World of Warcraft

I am writing on a very serious issue here. Cyber Bullies affect thousands of people every day weather it is in-game or out of game. I ask that everyone please think before they speak.

Why I ask is because some of the players are children who do not need to be bullied by a bunch of adult cry babies. I play this game for fun and on a daily or weekly basis adult cry babies bully kids because they do not know how to play the game.

After all its just a Game.

Thanks for you time Mourngiver of Kul’Tiras