Project Lore

Does His Belt Have Hearts On It? We are progressing into day four of our celebration of all things beer (hic!) and I've already come across a few scoundrels.  Not once, but twice - 66% of the time for those keeping score at home - I've been in a group where some horrible human being lied to the group.  That's right, I am complaining about people criminals lying about their ability to Insult Coren Direbrew, the Brewfest boss. The main issue isn't that a group can't figure out if someone is lying, it's that we find out too late.  Thanks to the quest starting inside BRD, we don't have any idea who's telling the truth until we are already there.  At that point we don't have an easy way to figure out who is lying, just that someone is!  You can deduce the culprit - kicking people from the group to watch the number on the quest log change, or not - but one of my groups folded to the liar because he was the tank.  Turns out that wasting additional time is of higher consequence than losing the Ram to a liar. If Direbrew was the only summonable boss, then it really wouldn't be an issue.  But he's not.  Coren is only one of three quest-based summonable bosses that I can think of off the top of my head.  Ahune of Midsummer Fire Festival fame, and the Headless Horsemen of Hallow' End being the other two bosses that we truthful people routinely get screwed on. Blizzard, if you are listening we citizens of Azeroth would love for this archaic form of treachery to be a thing of the past.  Please allow us to see who is eligible for the quest before we travel all over the lands.  Or at the very least, make deducing the liar a quick and painless process when we do arrive. In the interest of screwing these bastards out of their ninjaing opportunities please make sure to see that everyone has the quest before the first summon!  No mount drops for me yet, how about you?  Anyone lucky enough to score anything fun/useful?  Solidsamm finally managed to drop his Pocketwatch for a nice beer coaster.  Rolled a 4 on the remote, and a 22 on the barmaid trinket.  Hope you've had better luck.

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Tonight our 10 man is about to do some 10-man instances including Onyxia, Trial of the Crusader, and Trial of the Grand Crusader. Can't wait to see the new upgraded Ony! Tomorrow at the same times (7pm PDT/10pm EDT), we'll be running through the 25-man version of the same instances. So if you want to see the differences, come back tomorrow and see! As usual, I'll be in the USTREAM chat and I'll try to answer any questions that come up whenever I can. The streamed video and chat are embedded below, so come in, join the chat, and check it out. You can also follow Project Lore on twitter or check out our USTREAM channel to find out more! Also, if you happen to miss the stream, there should be some archived videos embedded below!

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Blue Stew is a semi-regular column bringing you a delicious concoction of developer news, thoughts, and opinions straight from the boiling pot that is the official World of Warcraft forums. The highlights of each day include additional commentary by Project Lore staff. How Do You Separate Yourself? As a rogue, I absolutely never feel remorse for any of the actions that I perform. I play the game perfectly and I'm not afraid to Vanish and hide if I sense an impending raid wipe (don't judge me, you'd all do it if you could!) It would be so much easier if healers could just turn their fellow raiders into zombies when they died. so when Neonpeon mentions his "burden," I have absolutely no clue what he's talking about:

"I find I have a bad habit that I need to break. I'm hoping some of you have experience on something that worked. The bad habit is that when I heal I suddenly take on every life in the raid as if I'm the only one responsible for them. When someone dies, no matter what the cause, I feel guilty that I couldn't save them. Even with multiple healers in the raid I take every death as a personal failure. Over the course of a night it really affects me even when half the deaths were impossible for healers to prevent."

Guilt? Personal failure? I don't think I'm familiar with these concepts...

"It doesn't bother me that a virtual character ceases to live for a brief instant. The loss of a digital life is not worth concern. It's that people dying means the raid wipes and more and more time is wasted. The remorse comes from knowing that if you could have kept that person alive, somehow, that you could have downed the boss and moved on to the next. It's the time lost and the head bashing against the same encounter that is the struggle, not a virtual avatar changing states in a digital world."

Ohhhhh... OK. Now you're speaking my language! Who does like waiting around for wipe recovery. I may not understand the healer's plight, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to relieve them of it once in awhile. In all seriousness folks, while I can't say I've ever felt the same way as Neonpeon does, I do recognize who easy it is for us normally self-reliant DPS class players to forget who's keeping us alive during a boss fight, and there are always a few things that we can do to keep them from pulling their hair out. Rogues in particular can use skills like Feint to reduce predictable, incoming AoE damage or Cloak of Shadows to get rid of a harmful debuff before it causes any pain. But every one of us has the ability to be aware of what's going on around us. Be vigilant for void zones, fires, and other common raid hazards during a fight. You might just save your healer's life. It's the least you can do when they're saving yours with a well-timed heal every few seconds. As I haven't had much experience with playing healing classes or specs, is this something that's common amongst you guys and gals? What about the tanks out there? Do you suffer from a constant feeling of remorse, or do you just let it slide off your back and keep trucking along like nothing ever happened? While guilt can be a powerful motivator, it can also be a terrible burden that drags down your performance if you dwell on those feelings too much. Blue Nethaera abides:

"You do need to find ways to get yourself away from blaming yourself too much when someone dies. It happens. Shrug it off and unless you purposefully let them die or made some error in judgment, don't sweat it. If you do make an error, apologize but don't wallow in it. It's easy to get wrapped up in the concern of being excellent at what you're doing as a healer and a point of pride keeping everyone alive. The very best healers are concerned with these things, but the most important thing to remember is to have fun with it and if someone gets on you for what they feel you are doing wrong, ignore it. As long as you know what you are doing for the group and are doing your best, there isn't anything they can say to take that away from you."

Recent In-Game Fixes - September 2009 - 9/22 Even though the release of 3.2.2 caught all the attention today, Bornakk makes us aware that there were a few extra tweaks hotfixed into the game:

• The Faction Champions encounter in the normal 10-player and normal 25-player Trial of the Crusader instances have had a number of spells and abilities altered which should result in less overall damage.
• The Anub'arak encounter has been changed on all difficulties. Anub’arak now attacks faster, the Nerubian Burrowers should hit a little harder, and their Expose Weakness ability now caps at 9 stacks.
• Some season 7 arena weapons will now have a socket.
• Threat of Thassarian will now properly halve the damage of Rune Strike for the off-hand strike.
• Soulstone Resurrection now fades upon entering raid combat if the character who cast it is not present.
• The Idle/Inactive debuff is now cleared upon round switches in Strand of the Ancients.
• The Mistress of Pain will now target more accurately in the 25 man Heroic Jaraxxus encounter.
• The damage of Hunter’s Volley ability has been increased.

Personally, I'm not sure how I feel about the changes to Faction Champions. While it's a slice-o'-pie on 10-man at this point, my guild has still run into a major wall while trying to take them down on 25-man. I agree that they should remain untouched for heroic, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't in favor of at least a tiny nerf to their damage-dealing capabilities. We still haven't figured out how everyone suddenly starts dying after we take out the healers. The other changes to Trial of the Crusader seem less drastic, with Anub'Arak getting a small buff (and he really needed one on normal, he's way, way too easy as it is) and the Mistress of Pain being a little easier to control (as a melee DPS I can't stand how she jumps around all the time). Hunters should be happy with their Volley buff, even if it is only incremental. I'm still QQing about what they did to Fan of Knives (though I can't complain too much, as our single-target damage has gone up with changes to Envenom and Master Poisoner). Missing Brewfest Quests? Euro players like Sakhar have been wondering what's up with the absence of Brewfest quests like "Catch the Wild Wolpertinger!" and "Pink Elekks On Parade." They were completely removed from the holiday last year, Blizzard citing that tweaks needed to be made to them could not be completed in time. However, both made their triumphant return in the 2009 version of the beer-chugging event. Well, they did in the United Stats anyway. Sorry to say, friends across the pond, but for one reason or another, they chose to leave them out on European servers. Vaneras confirms it:

"The Brewfest quests ‘Pink Elekks On Parade’ and ‘Catch the Wild Wolpertinger!’ were removed to ensure that World of Warcraft contains content that complies with regional game rating requirements."

And fellow Blue Wryxian backs him up:

"This is unfortunately not correct. The Pink Elekk and Wolpertinger quests are deliberately not available in Europe. Though we would like to have them available here too, this isn't possible I'm afraid."

With the rest of Brewfest left, presumably, intact (not to mention that the real-life inspiration for the holiday, Oktoberfest, comes from the Old World), I'm left wondering why these seemingly innocuous parts of it were nixed. If I had to venture a guess, it's that, despite the theme of getting pissed, both quests run with the idea that your character can see things "under the influence" that they wouldn't be able to when stone-cold sober. As Vaneras said, this is a "game rating requirements" issue, which probably means that even if the drinking is OK, associating hallucinogenic properties with it is not. Otherwise, you know, all the little kiddies out there would be breaking into their parents' liquor cabinet and going three sheets under in order to find the horned rabbit hiding under the house.

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Varian'd Hit It Both Ways Blizzard's Extended Universe for World of Warcraft is a bit lopsided.  The developer has farmed out an entire collection of lore to various companies, but for the most part, the Alliance material is what's been selected for production by the outside parties.  Sure, the Horde out there have a few books, and the various mangas , which happen to be the most balanced of any material, but outside those select few items the misunderstood faction hasn't received too much attention. There is a rebuttal though.  The case being made by some Alliance players is that the vast majority of Horde-based lore has been already told in game.  For evidence simply look at all of the faction leaders.  The history of each leader, and in the case of the horde, some sub-leaders like Garrosh, is known fairly well.  That is except for one leader who was missing for years, Varian Wyrnn (purists will note that he was in the game until Patch v1.10).  The World of Warcraft comic by Wildstorm has managed to take care of that problem. Volume 1:  The initial compilation of the monthly serial is an absolutely fantastic ice breaker.  Written by Walter and Louise Simonson the opening story arc revolves around an amnesiac warrior that awakens on the shores of Kalimdor.  After being quickly captured and turned into a gladiator, we are given our first inklings as to who this warrior is, by his captor no less.  Lo'Gosh, as the warrior eventually is called, is written as a true leader, tactician and all around badass warrior who's quick to fight, and has no qualms with shedding the blood, or limbs, of his victims. The compiled seven issues feature a story arc of their own that mainly revolves around the introduction of Lo'Gosh and the pair of Elves, Broll Bearmantle, a night elf druid and Valeera Sanguinar, a blood elf rogue, that are part of his team.  The Simonson's do an amazing job of developing the drastically different backstories to each character, while simultaneously keeping the run full of brutal action.  The abilities of artist Ludo Lullabi does a fantastic job of driving the action throughout the 170+ pages without the pages becoming an unreadable mess. A tip of my hate for the heavy fan service, including the use of Dire Maul's arena.  I guess a gladiator's life tends to make for some brutal depictions of war. Volume 1 is a stunning book that really sucked me into the story, and even managed to make me feel for previously unknown characters.  It wasn't justLo'Gosh's quest that I became infatuated with, but the tales of Broll and Valeera as well. *SPOILER ALERT* Volume 2's review has some unavoidable spoilers for Volume 1 in it.  Read it only if you've already read Volume 1, or don't care about spoilers. Volume 2:  Volume 1 culminated with the closing of two major story arcs.  Broll regained the use of all his druidic forms after much internal strife and external struggles.  We also learned exactly who Lo'Gosh really is, Varian Wrynn.  To keep things moving the story ended in a bit of a cliff hanger thanks to Valeera's use of arcane energies.  That's essentially where the second arc kicks off, with Valeera attempting to secure more magical energy.  Unfortunately, Valeera's magic addictions, and Broll's attempts to help her, are kicked to the curb as a secondary arc behind the main plot.  It's as if the authors didn't feel that the supporting cast from Volume 1 fit in the coming campaign. Valeera and Broll's own story may have been cut back, but they by no means abandoned Lo'Gosh in his quest to reclaim his throne.  It just takes them awhile to even get there.  The band of warriors are constantly distracted by various nuisances, the raptors outside Menethil Harbor and the Dark Iron Dwarves raiding Thandol Span for instance, that seem forced and out of place.  Sure, the Thandol Span episode allows for the development of Thargis Anvilmar, but the excursion, coupled with the other distractions, left a bitter taste in my mouth. The interruptions did offer additional time for the author's to play with Anduin, Lo'Gosh's son and the now-former King of Stormwind.  Of all people to question the supposed return of Varian, and Lady Katrana Prestor's intentions, it was a child who did it first, and demanded a deeper inquiry.  Anduin became a major player in Stormwind thanks to the brains he showed throughout the seven chapters of Volume 2, and a character that I can't wait to see develop. If you haven't picked up on it, Volume 2 didn't impress me all that much.  Outside of the development of Anduin, the second volume just didn't ring with me as much as the first.  It's a bit of recycled content, the plot outside of raiding Onyxia isn't original, things were forced and the cast of characters who've been helping Lo'Gosh since his re-birth were pushed to the side.  Even the art is of lower quality when compared to Lullabi's.  Its relative lackluster offering won't stop me from continuing the series.  It wasn't bad, just not awesome. *</SPOILER ALERT>* Believe it or not, now is probably the best time to get your nose in the comics.  Not only has Varian become a recent staple in the Alliance, but Volume 2 deals with not only the Black Dragonflight, but Onyxia herself.  And in case you didn't notice, her revamped encounter is being added to the live servers today!  Volume 3 will likely be out later this year, and will conclude Varian's story.  From there the comic is becomes more Horde focused. I feel obligated to point out this absolutely stellar recap of Varian's current main enemy, Garrosh Hellscream, written by WoW.com's Matthew Rossi.  If you're an Alliance player who loves lore discussions it is a must read.  Hordies who've dealt with Garrosh time and again likely know Garrosh's ins, outs and mood swings, but could see the orc in a new light.

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With rumors swirling about the incoming Patch 3.2.2's release date, last night I took some time away from Brewfest festivities to squeeze in a final encounter with Onyxia, in her classic form. I was hoping this would serve as inspiration of sorts for others to go battle her as well before the patch, but as we heard this morning it looks like the update is now underway. As early as tonight, a freshly angry Onyxia awaits those brave enough to enter her lair. Although I've seen plenty of videos and heard players brag about soloing the once epic brood mother, I wasn't confident that I'd be able to take her on alone in my squishy leather gear. So I rounded up a couple of guildies who also were keen to battle Ony, and together we headed for her lair in southern Dustwallow Marsh. The three of us - rogue, warrior and paladin - sneaked in through the gate and easily tore through a few trash dragonkin. I felt almost guilty as we rounded a corner into her nest and found her sleeping peacefully. But not guilty enough. She awoke with a fiery vengeance, ready to lay a team of 40 adventurers to waste with a single Deep Breath. Instead, she found just us three, 20 levels higher than she, and geared with equipment and spells far beyond those she once knew. Regardless, she put up a good fight. Most of her fire attacks practically bounced off the plate armor of the paladin while I threw DPS from the side. When her whelps came, spamming Fan of Knives worked handily. More ranged DPS would have come in handy when she took to the air, and the three of us ran around puzzled about how to get her down before her fireballs took us out. I was a fraction away from dying several times before we finally pulled her back within melee reach. The warrior was not so lucky; he took the brunt of fireball damage and reached his end. As Onyxia died, we each picked off a ton of loot. The little achievement whore inside me also was thrilled to get Onyxia's Lair, even though I've heard it will no longer be required for the Classic Raider achievement. But there will be new achievements! Plus a new pet whelpling and updated loot! Not nearly as troublesome as she was in her hayday, but still a beast to be reckoned with, Onyxia soon will be back at the forefront of glorious encounters. I don't know about you guys, but I am revved up to have this battle be returned to its nostalgic difficulty. With any luck, Onyxia will be back up and ready to really shine tonight. Who else plans to pay her a visit?

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OMG Patch Today!

The new content patch hits the live servers today. Players can download the patch by running the World of Warcraft launcher. The patch for OSX clocks in at 40.5MB, and the Windows counterpart is likely comparable. Patch 3.2.2 is a mixed bag for me. Fan of Knives is receiving a huge 30% damage nerf and it no longer receives the interrupt effect from Throwing Specialization. This means my days of sweeping the DPS are likely over on multi-target fights, and fights like Yogg-Saron and Faction Champions are going to be much harder. I may no longer keep a combat spec since a lot of the benefits of slow weapons like axes and swords are gone with FoK losing a lot of its utility. No ones likes getting nerfed, but perhaps its for the best. Additionally, I've just started on the Scepter of the Shifting Sands questline, and who knows if killing Onyxia in her new level 80 version will still give me the quest item? On the bright side, Envenom and Master Poisoner got some pretty good buffs, so Rogue single-target DPS should see a few hundred DPS increase for Mutilate specs. Heirloom items that give an XP boost now affect Battleground experience, and everyone will see daily Battleground quests regardless of level, so my Death Knight should be seeing level 80 even sooner. Not to mention, I'm very excited to try out the new Onyxia! It is still uncertain if the new level 80 Onyxia will be raidable tonight. She could not be spawned yet like Emalon, or her addition by not occur until November to coincide with WoW's 5th Anniversary. I'm ready to start farming her for that awesome 310% move speed mount Brood of Onyxia to add to my collection. Here are the notes for the live realms: The Brood Mother Returns After years of lurking in her lair battling the many brave adventurers who travelled (Heartbourne's note: Really Blizzard, run a spell-check on the patch notes!) from afar to challenge her, Onyxia returns stronger than before to commemorate World of Warcraft's five-year anniversary.

• Onyxia has been scaled to offer new challenges to level 80 players and is now available for testing in 10- and 25-player modes.
• Adjusted for modern raiding, but with the fundamental experience of fighting the Brood Mother still in effect, including the horrors of her Deep Breaths!
• Onyxia will now drop level 80 item versions of some classic loot items from the level 60 encounter.
• Brood of Onyxia, a very rare 310%-speed mount modeled after Onyxia herself will be available for the luckiest of challengers

General

• Armor Penetration Rating: The amount of armor penetration gained per point of this rating has been reduced by 12%.

PvP Battlegrounds

• Players level 11 and higher will now always see a daily Battleground quest, as the quest giver will only offer daily quests for a Battleground in which a player is eligible to participate according to level bracket (i.e. players levels 11-20 will always be offered a Warsong Gulch daily quest, while players levels 11-50 will be offered either an Arathi Basin or a Warsong Gulch daily quest, etc.).

Death Knight

• Pets - Gnaw: This death knight ghoul ability now has a 1-minute cooldown.

Blood

• Heart Strike: Secondary targets of Heart Strike now take half as much damage.
• Subversion: Now also increases the critical strike chance of Scourge Strike by 3/6/9%.
• Vampiric Blood: Cooldown reduced to 1 minute and duration reduced to 10 seconds.

Frost

• Threat of Thassarian now also causes Rune Strike to use both weapons when dual-wielding.
• Unbreakable Armor: Cooldown reduced to 1 minute and changed back to granting 25% additional armor while active instead of flat damage reduction based on armor. The amount of strength granted has been reduced to 10%.
• Frost Presence: The damage reduction granted by this ability has been increased from 5% to 8%.

Unholy

• Bone Shield: This ability now has 3 charges instead of 4. Cooldown reduced to 1 minute.
• Dirge: This talent no longer grants additional runic power from using Obliterate.

Druid Balance

• Moonkin Form: This form now also reduces the damage the druid takes while stunned by 15%.
• Typhoon: The daze duration has been increased from 3 seconds to 6 seconds.

Feral Combat

• Infected Wounds: The debuff generated by this talent no longer stacks and instead causes the full effect with a single application.
• Predatory Strikes: This talent now also causes the druid's finishing moves to provide a 7/13/20% chance per combo point to make the next Nature spell with a cast time below 10 seconds instant cast.

Hunter Beast Mastery

• The Beast Within: The duration of this talent has been reduced to 10 seconds. In addition, hunters with this talent will do 10% additional damage at all times.
• Bestial Wrath: The duration of this talent has been reduced to 10 seconds.

Mage Arcane

• Arcane Blast: The buff from using this ability now stacks up to 4 times instead of 3, and each application increases mana cost by 175% instead of 200%. In addition, the duration of the buff has been reduced to 6 seconds.
• Arcane Missiles: Casting this spell while both Missile Barrage and Clearcasting are active will cause only Missile Barrage to be consumed.
• Missile Barrage: The effect from triggering this talent now removes the mana cost of Arcane Missiles. In addition, the chance for Arcane Blast to trigger this talent is now 8/16/24/32/40%. All other listed spells continue to have a 4/8/12/16/20% chance to trigger it. This talent no longer has a chance to be triggered when spells miss.

Fire

• Combustion: This talent now also increases the critical strike damage bonus of Fire spells by 50% while it is active. In addition, Living Bomb periodic ticks will no longer interact with the count or the charges on the talent.

Paladin Protection

• Righteous Fury: The bonus threat from Holy spells caused by this talent has been reduced from 90% to 80%.
• Ardent Defender: This talent now reduces damage taken below 35% health by 7/13/20% instead of 10/20/30%.
• Blessing of Sanctuary: This blessing now grants 10% strength in addition to its current effects. Also, the strength and stamina bonuses from this blessing will no longer be lost when Blessing of Kings is removed.
• Judgements of the Just: The reduction in cooldown to Hammer of Justice provided by this talent has been reduced to 5/10 seconds instead of 10/20 seconds.
• Touched by the Light: This talent now provides 20/40/60% of the paladin's strength as spell power instead of 10/20/30% of the paladin's stamina.

Retribution

• Seal of Command: This ability now chains to strike up to 2 additional targets when it is triggered by an attack that can only strike a single target.
• Seal of Corruption and Seal of Vengeance: These seals will now only use the debuff stacks generated by the attacking paladin to determine the damage done by the seal and by the judgement.

Priest Shadow

• Improved Spirit Tap: Mind Flay periodic critical strikes now have a 50% chance to trigger this talent.
• Twisted Faith now grants spell power equal to 4/8/12/16/20% of spirit, up from 2/4/6/8/10%.

Rogue

• Envenom's scaling has been increased from 7% to 9% of attack power per combo point.
• Fan of Knives: The damage done by this ability has been reduced by 30%.

Assassination

• Master Poisoner: No longer increases the Deadly Poison application rate following a successful Envenom and instead now provides a 33/66/100% chance of preventing Envenom from consuming Deadly Poison.

Combat

• Throwing Specialization: This talent no longer causes Fan of Knives to interrupt spellcasting.

Subtlety

• Honor Among Thieves: A 1-second cooldown is now enforced on how often a rogue can gain combo points from his party via this talent.

Shaman

• Cleansing Totem: No longer pulses instantly when dropped.
• Flame Shock: The duration of all ranks has been increased by 6 seconds.
• Lava Burst: This ability no longer ever consumes a Flame Shock debuff off of the target.

Elemental Combat

• Shamanism: Your Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning spells gain an additional 3/6/9/12/15% and your Lava Burst gains an additional 4/8/12/16/20% of your bonus damage effects.

Enhancement

• Earthen Power: No longer causes Earthbind to pulse a persistent snare immunity aura. It does still remove snares from allies as an instant pulse, but there is no lingering immunity. Earthen Power now also brings Earth Shock's melee attack speed reduction up to -15%/-20% (with 1 or 2 points in it, respectively).

Warrior Arms

• Sword Specialization: Now has a 2/4/6/8/10% chance to proc an extra attack, up from 1/2/3/4/5%.

Protection

• Critical Block: This talent now grants a 20/40/60% chance to block double the normal amount instead of 10/20/30%.

Dungeons & Raids Shadowfang Keep

• Wailing Guardsman: Screams of the Past will no longer have multiple applications on a target. Recast time has been increased.

Ulduar

• Increased the cooldown on Immortal Guardians' Drain Life ability in the Yogg-Saron encounter.

Achievements

• The Achievement "Iron, Dwarf Medium Rare (25 player)" now requires 25 kills, down from 50.
• The Frostwolf Howler and Stormpike Battle Charger Achievements will now be awarded when a player learns the respective mount spells.

Professions

• The blacksmiths of Orgrimmar grew tired of running to the rear of the city to craft items and have installed a new anvil & forge at the General Store in the Valley of Strength.

Engineering

• The Mind Amplification Dish no longer changes the appearance of your helmet.

Inscription

• Added a recipe for Runescroll of Fortitude. This item grants a stamina buff equal to the highest rank of Power Word: Fortitude (untalented) to all players in the raid. The effect of this runescroll is exclusive with other stamina scrolls and Power Word: Fortitude.

Leatherworking

• Added a recipe for Drums of Forgotten Kings. These drums increase all stats by 8% for all players in a raid. The effect of these drums is exclusive with Blessing of Kings.
• Added a recipe for Drums of the Wild. These drums grant a buff equal to the highest rank of Mark of the Wild (untalented) to all players in a raid. The effect of these drums is exclusive with Mark of the Wild.

Items

• The Black Heart: This item's animation has been changed and no longer resembles Hand of Protection.
• Death Knight Tier-9 Tanking 4-Piece Set Bonus: Now decreases the cooldown on Vampiric Blood, Unbreakable Armor, and Bone Shield by 10 seconds instead of 20.
• Druid Tier-8 Healer 4-Piece Set Bonus: The amount of healing this set bonus grants on the initial cast of Rejuvenation has been reduced by 50%. In addition, this set bonus no longer has strange interactions with Harold's Rejuvenating Broach.
• Libram of Obstruction: The buff to block value from this relic is now exclusive with the buff to block value from Libram of the Sacred Shield; it is impossible to have both buffs at once.
• Libram of the Sacred Shield: The block value buff from this relic has been increased to match its item level.
• Relics: All buffs provided by relics (idols, librams, totems and sigils) now share an exclusive category such that gaining a buff from one of these items will remove all other buffs gained from items in this category.
• Totem of Quaking Earth: Attack power value increased to 400.

Glyphs

• Glyph of Bone Shield: This glyph now grants 1 additional charge instead of 2.
• Glyph of Flame Shock: Redesigned. This glyph now makes Flame Shock periodic damage able to be critical strikes.
• Glyph of Mind Flay: This glyph no longer reduces the magnitude of the movement reduction on the Mind Flay victim.
• Glyph of Scourge Strike: Redesigned. This glyph now causes Scourge Strike to extend the duration of Frost Fever and Blood Plague by 3 seconds each time Scourge Strike is used on a target, up to a maximum of 9 seconds.
• Glyph of Typhoon: This glyph now increases the range on Typhoon by 10 yards in addition to its current effects.
• Glyph of Unbreakable Armor: Now increases the armor gained from Unbreakable Armor by 20%.
• Glyph of Vampiric Blood: The glyph now increases the duration of Vampiric Blood by 5 seconds instead of 10.

User Interface Battleground Queuing

• Players may now only queue for no more than two Battlegrounds at a time.
• The dialog box for entering a Battleground match has been changed to reflect the following options: "Enter Battle," "Leave Queue," and "Minimize."
• The time a player has to enter a battle when selected has been reduced to 40 seconds when not already in a Battleground and 20 seconds when in a Battleground.
• Players already in a Battleground can now choose "Enter Battle" for a new Battleground under any circumstance (i.e. while dead, in combat, falling, etc.).
• A new Battleground will not launch until the maximum number of players on each side are in the queue (i.e. 40 players per side for Alterac Valley).
• The size of the Focus Frame can now be adjusted via the Interface Options menu.

Mail System Auto-Complete Feature

• The inline auto-complete feature for the mail system has been added back into the game. The mail system will now have both the pre- and post-3.2.0 auto-complete features available.
• Added a label to notify players that the Tab key will allow players to navigate through the character names listed via the auto-complete feature.

For additional notes on Lua and XML changes please visit the UI & Macros Forum: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/board.html?sid=1&amp;forumId=11114 Bug Fixes

• Coliseum Trinkets: Some spells that should have triggered these trinkets will now trigger them (such as Holy Nova and Fel Armor).
• Death Knight Tier-9 DPS 4-Piece Set Bonus: Now grants the correct chance for disease damage ticks to be critical strikes.
• Hunter Tier-9 2-Piece Set Bonus: Critical damage from Serpent Sting will now work properly with the Mortal Shots and Expose Weakness talents.
• Lightweave Embroidery: This tailoring item enhancement will no longer trigger from the periodic healing granted by the warlock spell Fel Armor.
• Mote of Flame: Corrected a typo in the tooltip.
• Paladin Tier-9 DPS 2-Piece Set Bonus: Now grants the correct chance for Righteous Vengeance ticks to be critical strikes.
• Shard of Flame: Corrected a typo in the tooltip.
• Val'anyr, Hammer of The Ancient Kings: Healing from Prayer of Mending now triggers the shield from this item. In addition, a bug was corrected which would cause the shield points to be overwritten rather than stack up as intended.

Death Knight

• Rune of Razorice: The frost vulnerability granted by this enchantment will now increase the damage done by Frost Fever as intended.

Druid

• Balance of Power: Misleading tooltip reworded. The tooltip previously reported an incorrect value for the increased chance to hit with spells. The actual benefit of the talent is unchanged.

Hunter

• Master's Call: This ability now correctly removes the snaring component of Infected Wounds, Frostfire Bolt, and Slow.
• Trap Mastery's (Survival) tooltip now states the correct amount of snakes summoned.

Mage

• Arcane Missiles: Ranks 12 and 13 will now properly cause players to enter combat.

Paladin

• Hand of Freedom: This ability now correctly removes the snaring component of Infected Wounds and Frostfire Bolt.

Priest

• Divine Aegis: Ranks 1 and 2 will now work with Holy Nova.
• Glyph of Power Word: Shield now correctly uses the Priest's spell critical chance instead of the target's.

Rogue

• Vanish: This ability now correctly removes the snaring component of Frostfire Bolt.
• Honor Among Thieves: This talent will now work properly again if two rogues with different ranks of the talent are in the same party.

Shaman

• Grounding Totem will now properly protect against the Death Grip spell.
• Lava Burst can no longer deal critical damage to targets who are immune to critical strikes (due to, e.g. Roar of Sacrifice, Blessed Resilience).
• Lightning Shield: This spell will no longer set off some trinkets when it is cast.
• Stoneclaw Totem's pulses will no longer break stealth on nearby hostile units.
• Thunderstorm and Shamanistic Rage can no longer be used while Frozen, Cycloned, Sapped, or Incapacitated.

Warlock

• Demonic Circle: This ability now correctly removes the snaring component of Frostfire Bolt.
• Fel Armor: This spell was unable to set off trinkets and other effects. That has been corrected.
• When using Shadowbolt or Incinerate while having Backlash and Backdraft active, only Backlash will now be properly consumed.

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I'm constantly amazed at the sorts of things that can be found by digging through patches. The disparate elements that come together to form what we all know as Azeroth are split into thousands of files and even more lines of code. It's not entirely surprising that bits of the game not yet (or ever to be) implemented are contained deep within them, like unmarked graves never meant to be dug up. Of course, it's also a standard industry practice to leave things just laying around. In the process of coding or testing certain aspects of a program, it can become inconvenient to completely remove them upon release, even if they haven't been green-lit for player consumption. One of the most notorious incidents involving left-over code you might know as "Hot Coffee." Scenes depicting hot polygon-on-polygon action could be hacked into the PC version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas because they were still on the disc, even if in the normal course of play, you'd only hear the action off-screen. If you've spent any significant amount of time in the this community, then you've no doubt heard of Boubouille and his site, MMO-Champion, which often features the results of his adventures deep into the data files of World of Warcraft. Apparently, one of the most frequent questions people ask him is: "What the heck is up with that Dance Studio Blizzard promised us?" Back before Wrath of the Lich King was released, the developers told us that we'd soon be able to visit the fabled disco, where they could create and share their own dances apart from those normally assigned to their given race/gender combination. After all, nothing says "stay at home and play WoW on a Friday night" like knowing how to bust a groove! An exclusive preview of the dance studio in Lord of the Rings Online. With another dungeon, an upcoming expansion, and various other content to attend to first, I can't imagine that the Dance Studio is at the top of anybody's list, but nonetheless, Boubouille did find several hints that Blizzard might still be working on it. According to him, several dance moves were added to the game (though you can't activate them, so don't try) and they demonstrate the level of customization that might be found in the eventual release of this feature. In addition to basic component parts (slices cut out of existing dances and the like), there are also modifiers which can extend, shorten, or hold given moves. To add a little bit of extra flair, you can even include special effects normally reserved for spells (like the cold blast of Frost Nova, here called "Icy Finale"). Though we may have no idea what the front-end will look like, it's assumed that all of these things can be stringed together and then saved into separate dances, like different gear profiles in the Equipment Manager. Better yet, you can then send your creations to your friends to use (that's one way to start a new dance craze!). Sadly, there's still no indication when (or if) the Dance Studio may come to fruition. If I were to make an educated guess, I'd say that it will be released somewhere down the line, but streamlined to be part of the UI instead of there being a real, physical "discotheque" somewhere in Azeroth. At this point it seems like prime "minor content patch" material. Nonetheless, I hope it shows up as soon as it's convenient. I could really use a new victory dance for they day I can use it on top of Arthas' corpse! Are you still anticipating the Dance Studio, readers, or has it fallen to the bottom list of your most desired features?

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I've heard quite a few tales of players getting both the Kodo and Ram mounts from the Brewfest boss in BRD. What I haven't heard mentioned at all was a piece of loot that dropped on my 20th (and final) run for today: the Tankard O' Terror. The slow one-handed mace is not only higher item level than any other loot from Direbrew, but is also BoE. Since googling the term showed no results, I figure it must be an extremely rare drop. The stats on it are actually very good for a melee, especially an enhancement shaman. Not only that, but it looks amazing. A huge mug that is acutally useful in combat? Very nice. Almost as good as an overflowing chalice or a broken beer bottle. Anybody else seen unexpected items come off of our old friend Coren? I have yet to nab a Kodo from him so I'll likely be spending more time piling the floor with his corpses. For all of the times I've already killed the guy, this drop was quite the surprise. Maybe there is reason for people to go in there, even after they have all of the trinkets they can handle.

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So you've found a guild and you think you've got the chops to run with the big boys now. You know your class well, you're all geared up, and ready to go. Though you may very well find acceptance in a top-tier raiding guild at this point, there is still one more hurdle to cross: they have to like you. If it isn't evident by now, World of Warcraft is a social game and that covers everything from trade chat to the end-game experience. If you're not comfortable or friendly with the other 24 people running alongside you towards that next boss, you're not going to get anywhere. And if you're outright rude and abrasive, you'll find yourself tossed out the front door faster than Jazzy Jeff by Uncle Phil. My guild once had to let one of the best Warlocks on our server go not two weeks after he joined because he wouldn't shut up on Ventrilo and acted like a know-it-all. If you're the silent type, don't fret. A lot of them will probably still accept you as long as you communicate to them in one way or another that you understand what's going on. In fact, the players that are going to find themselves in trouble are the loudmouths. That doesn't mean you can't socialize or talk with your fellow guildmates, but do know what your limits are and when to zip those lips. Let me be clear that tolerance levels are going to be different for every guild, and the best way to figure that out is to simply look up their rules, which may be on their webpage or in their forums. Since you don't always know what people are going to be like before you join or become accepted, message boards are also a good way to get to know the "personality" of a guild beforehand. Who knows? You might decide that you don't really like them! Learn how to fit in and you could be the next Sarah Jessica Parker! Don't and, well, you're doomed to be Amy Linker. But, as an officer of a progression raiding guild, I've encountered my fair share of malcontents and I do believe that there are some fairly common ground rules that should be followed no matter who you apply for:

1. Be Social, Not Rude - I briefly touched on this already, but it's a good idea to get to know your fellow raiders in a friendly manner. If you're invited to join, talk them up in guild chat for awhile. Don't make cute jokes or sarcastic statements, and don't attempt to discuss topics that you don't know anything about. In general, make strides to get to know people, not insult them. Like any social group, people will eventually relax while they're around you, and once you've earned their trust, you'll be free to open up a little bit more. If you don't like making small talk, think of the conversation as an investment in your raid spot. There have been people who joined our guild in groups and some of them never once spoke up. You know what happened to them? We didn't invite them to raids because we had no idea who they were and, soon enough, they left or were kicked out of the guild.
2. Don't Talk Over Officers - I cannot stress this enough! In a raid situation, let the raid leaders do the talking! Different guilds may have different policies concerning guild or raid chat, but Ventrilo is a whole different beast. If you've used voice chat before, then you know how confusing it can be when too many people try to talk at once. It sounds like an echo chamber and it's impossible to figure out what anybody is saying. Deal with that in the middle of an encounter and you can chalk up yet another wipe. If communication is essential (and it is), then knowing when to keep your mouth shut is just as important as knowing when to open it. And, on occasion, you should do that too! Certain fights can be dependent on players calling out when they're under the effect of a certain condition (often spells or debuffs cast by the boss), but generally only do this when the officers ask for it before the fight begins.
3. Participate - Like knowing when to speak up in rule number one, participating can also raise your position in a guild. Being known as the kind of player who is willing to help fellow guildies can go a very long way. This doesn't mean you necessarily have to lend a hand at every given opportunity, but try your best to run instances with all your new friends and show up on time for raids, even if you're not guaranteed a spot to go. Merely being available is a good thing. Coupling availability with a well-geared character and knowing how to play can be a great thing! We've had numerous people come and go from our guild over the years. Some have been around nearly as long as the officers have and yet show no signs of increased activity or the desire to ascend in the ranks. Others have earned premiere raid spots mere weeks after joining. How do they do that? They act cordially, demonstrate that they know how to play, and participate as much as possible. The officers will notice those who are making an effort (and, subsequently, delivering during raids), rewarding them accordingly.
4. Deal With It - Develop a thick skin and do it quick. No matter how friendly your guildmates are, there will inevitably be some aspects of the experience that you find undesirable. Another member's personality bothering you? Unless it's obvious harassment, learn to tolerate it, especially if you're the only one with a problem. If you're not the only one with a problem, then it will soon become evident as even the officers tip-toe around conversations with said person. Chances are, their days with the guild will shortly be over. Not satisfied with the gear situation? Tough. There are several ways for a guild to determine how loot is distributed, and often you'll know what it is before you join. If you don't like it, then respectfully decline membership. Common systems amongst raiding guilds include DKP (an officer-administered point system that tends to reward participation) and loot council (which utilizes the wisdom of the officers to give drops to those who need it most -- easily corruptible when done wrong, but one of the best methods if done right). Both types are intended to eventually spread gear drops evenly amongst those who consistently show up to raids. And what about those asshole raid leaders yelling at people over Ventrilo? Well, the fact of the matter is that some people don't do what they're supposed to be doing, and that can quickly lead to frustration. A good leader will develop tolerance of their own, but everybody has their breaking point. Listen well? Know how to play? Then you're in good shape. Constantly messing up and potentially wiping the raid? Take the criticism on the chin and improve your performance for next time. Nothing is more frustrating that consistently bad performers who refuse to better themselves.

If these conditions seem too harsh, remember that I'm trying to help you join a good progression raiding guild. Those without such strict policies are doomed to failure, and casual guilds, in general, are going to be more lenient with disruptive behavior. To some, everything I've communicated in these articles is going to seem like common sense, but my experience as an officer time and time again has proven to me that a lot of people out there playing the game still have no clue what is expected of them in a serious raiding environment. To everyone else, I hope I've equipped you with the tools and knowledge to find a future home. Look at it this way: we want you in our guild! From a recruiter's perspective, it's extremely hard to find good, quality raiders. Some have gear, but not skill. Others have skill, but a bad attitude. Yet more have the gear and the skills, but never actually attend raids when we need them to. Be the whole package, and we'd be happy to have you along for the ride. Of course, if you're still having a hard time or have any further questions, post them below and I'll be happy to provide you with some good advice in due time!

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I finally achieved the elusive What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been, the achievement for completing the main achievements for all the major holidays. It awards the Violet Proto-Drake, which is an epic 310% movement speed flying mount, currently among the fastest in the game. Players who receive the achievement get their drakes in the mail from Alexstrasza, with the following message:

With the drums of war pounding in the distance, it is easy for the denizens of Azeroth to forget all that life has to offer. You, on the other hand, have maintained the dignity of the good races of Azeroth with your ability to remember what we fight for. To not celebrate our victories is another form of defeat. Remember that well, Reveler. May others be inspired by your good cheer, Alexstrasza the Life-Binder

Note that I corrected Alexstrasza's misspelling of "remember", which was written as "remeber". Come on, Blizzard! Its very curious to me where Alexstrasza is getting all of these drakes from and how she is fitting them in the mail. She also sends the Red Proto-Drake to players who complete Glory of the Hero. There are a lot of controversies surrounding the Violet Proto-Drake. The number of 310% move speed mounts is extremely small, and most of the others can only be obtained by completing very difficult raid achievements when the content is still very new. The other 310% are the Black Proto-Drake, Plagued Proto-Drake, Ironbound Proto-Drake, and the Rusted Proto-Drake. Aside from the Violet Proto-Drake, you must be in a progression raiding guild to obtain one of these super-fast mounts. Is it fair that players who just participate in all of the holidays can get one of these mounts? They will likely be pretty common by the end of Brewfest, and even more common by Hallow's End, which was the first holiday the occur after the launch of the achievement system last year. I personally will enjoy my Violet Proto-Drake and won't complain. The other issue is that there is no reason to use other mounts once a player obtains a 310% movement speed mount. I love my Sunreaver Dragonhawk, Turbo-charged Flying Machine, and Green Proto-Drake, but they will not see the light of day when I'm flying around, as they are slower than my Violet Proto-Drake. Its really a pity, because I put a lot of effort into getting those mounts and they are really cool. Blizzard has said that they might do this in the future, but for now, I'm stuck flaunting only one of my flying mounts. Should Blizzard scale mounts up with riding skill, including those at 150% movement speed?

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