Project Lore

Making the trek to Ahune should be a lot easier this year.A new version of Patch 3.3.3 hit the PTR today. To be completely honest, there's not a whole lot in this build that we haven't already tipped you off to. From the new holiday boss mechanics to the class changes hinted on Facebook last night, it's all there. 

But if you still need a quick run-down of what's been modified in 11599, here are some highlights:

• Holiday bosses can now only be fought by queuing up through the Dungeon Finder system or special NPCs (likely to be found in major cities). As a result, the previous requirements for summoning these bosses has been removed.
• Death Knights' Chains of Ice now automatically inflicts Frost Fever.
• Druids' Nature's Grasp spell now has 3 charges.
• Hunters' Ferocious Inspiration is now an aura.
• Warriors' Vitality talent now buffs Stamina by 3/6/9%.

The rest of the details, including more class changes, can be found after the jump!

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The new build brings several changes, but we still have to wait for the Halls of Reflection. It looks like that little bit of extra maintenance on the PTR today wasn't just for show, as a new build of 3.3 has been deployed on the test realms. Unfortunately, this one doesn't seem to be quite as substantial as the first two, as there seem to be no new instances to run through. Part of me wonders if they'll just keep Halls of Reflection internal for the duration of the testing period in order to preserve the secrecy of whatever events might transpire there. But that doesn't mean there aren't any new or interesting changes. Here are the updated patch notes:

Druid

• Rebirth: The cooldown on this spell has been lowered from 20 minutes down to 10 minutes. Cannot be used in Arenas.
• Gift of the Earthmother: Redesigned. This talent now increases spell haste by 2/4/6/8/10% instead of its previous effect.

Hunter

• Call Stabled Pet: Cooldown reduced from 30 minutes to 5 minutes. Cannot be used in Arenas.

Mage

• Improved Scorch: The debuff from this talent no longer stacks, and instead can apply the full effect from a single cast of Scorch.

Priest

• Power Word: Shield; This spell can now be cast on non-raid/party friendly targets.
• Improved Devouring Plague: This spell now deals 10/20/30% of its total periodic effect instantly, up from 5/10/15%.
• Shadowform: This talent also now causes Devouring Plague, Shadow Word: Pain, and Vampiric Touch to benefit from haste. Both the period length and the duration of these spells will be reduced by haste. In addition, the mana cost has been reduced from 32% to 13% of base mana.
• Vampiric Embrace: This ability is now provides a 30-minute buff that cannot be dispelled, instead of a target debuff.

Shaman

• Reincarnation: The cooldown on this spell has been lowered from 60 minutes down to 50 minutes (Improved Reincarnation will continue to lower the cooldown by 10/20 minutes).

Warlock

• Create Soulstone: The cooldown on this spell and duration of its buff have been lowered from 30 minutes down to 15 minutes. Cannot be used in Arenas.
• Decimation: Redesigned. When Shadowbolt, Incinerate or Soul Fire hit a target that is at or below 35% health, the cast time of Soul Fire is reduced by 20/40% for 8 seconds. Soul Fires cast under the effect of Decimation cost no shards.
• Molten Core: Redesigned. Shadow spells and damage-over-time effects have a 12% chance to increase the damage done by Incinerate by 5/10/15% and Soul Fire by 4/7/10% for 12 seconds. In addition, Molten Core now has a new spell effect.

User Interface

• Non spell-based tracking now persists through logout.
• Any party member may mark raid targets.
• Users will be warned when their talents are reset due to a new patch.
• “/Settitle” command has been added.
• Instant quest text is on by default.
• “Tentative” status added for calendar responses.
• Players below level 10 may not join raids.
• Ignore list expanded to 50 to match the friends list.
• Unit frames added for special encounters.
• Interface element added next to the mini-map to show what dungeon you are in (ex: 10- and 25-player Heroic dungeons marked with a skull).
• Experience earned for a quest will display in the Quest Rewards section.
• Confirmation box added when buying stable slots.
• Macro Changes

Symbol “@” added as a synonym for “target=”;. For example, “/cast [@focus] Flash Heal”. New macro conditionals: “vehicleui” (if the player has a vehicle UI) and “unithasvehicleui” (if the target of the macro has a vehicle UI). Character and Creature Nameplates

• The range at which players can see nameplates has been significantly expanded.
• You can no longer see nameplates through objects which block line of sight.

As long as you are able to peer through the doorway of a room, you will see nameplates of characters and creatures in that room. Pillars and bridges in Arenas will not hide friendly or enemy nameplates.

• Totem nameplates can be toggled off under “PRODUCTION” settings via “Interface Options” on the test realms.
• Instead of nameplates for large groups of players or creatures trying to sort themselves, they will now overlap. This functionality can be toggled off under “PRODUCTION” settings via “Interface Options” on the test realms.

Addon Author Changes

• “registerForClicks” added to xml buttons.
• “MouseIsOver” has been converted to a “C” function for increased efficiency (e.g. /dump PlayerFrame:IsMouseOver() ).
• When an addon file is loaded, the addon name and an addon table are passed to the file through ‘…’. The same addon table is passed to every file loaded by a particular TOC file (example at the top of a Lua file: “local addonName, addonTable = …;”.
• “motionScriptsWhileDisabled” attribute added to buttons. This allows “OnEnter”; and “OnLeave”; to fire while the button is disabled.
• “GetFileHeight()” and “GetFileWidth()” added to Texture objects. 0 is returned if no texture file is associated with the texture.
• You can now query for a list of completed quests with “QueryQuestsCompleted()” then wait for the “QUEST_QUERY_COMPLETE” event, and call “GetQuestsCompleted(<luatable>)”.

As you can see, several spells have been redesigned (and I'm personally pretty happy about the reduced cooldown on Rebirth), but some of the most exciting changes are coming to the User Interface. Though allowing anybody in your party to mark targets may seem like trouble waiting to happen for an unruly group, it should be quite beneficial for those that know how to control themselves. It takes some of the sweat of the tank or raid/party leader if other people can be designated to mark targets on the fly. Likewise, I'm glad that they're finally adding a "tentative" option to calender responses. I'm sure we've all had days when we weren't entirely sure we'd be able to make it to a raid or not, and just knowing that much makes organizing them a heckuva lot easier. As for the nameplates? Well, I always have them on, and while I can see a few problems with allowing them to overlap, I think it'll be much less confusing than the current setup which has them bouncing all over the place when there is a large group of mobs to deal with. That makes them extremely hard to individually target with the mouse. You go to click one and its nameplate has just jumped across the screen, and we all know that mis-targeting can, on occasion, lead to rather unfortunate consequences. As a side note, MMO-Champion has revealed that Oswald the Penguin will now once again go by his old name, Mr. Chilly. One might wonder why Blizzard did such a quick one-eighty! This new build is sure to bear more fruit as we continue to explore what it offers, so please stay tuned, and let us know what you think of the changes above!

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Blue Stew is a new semi-daily 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. It's once again been a few days since the last update, but don't fret! After having some Chili from Wendy's for lunch, I was inspired to make this Stew extra chunky! Goodbye World of Warcraft You thought you had a bone to pick with Blizzard? Well, I bet 10 gold Pureheart's got you beat! Besides wanting to turn Azeroth into a communist state, he also manages to represent just about everything wrong with the worst of the game's players. Mindless whining? Check. Anti-social attitude while playing a social game? Check. Unfounded sense of entitlement? Check. Need to make his inane opinions known before allegedly "quitting" the game? Double check. Let's see precisely what he has to say about the nature of guilds, raiding, and the resulting rewards:

"First of all its not fun when other players have something you cant get, its bad enough having to put up with this in the real world in the form of rich celebrities who have everything like nice cars, money, etc... unfortunatley the game design doesnt allow for the majority of players to be successful at the game."

OK, let's be completely straight here. Even in a fantasy world, you've got to work for what you earn. The real treat is that instead of waiting years for that promotion or pay increase, you can obtain a new piece of gear or a few achievements in the matter of a few hours. The game needs to cater to various types of people willing to put different amounts of time or effort in. With tons of solo-friendly content in the game, I don't understand why someone like Pureheart can't be happy with what he is able to obtain.

"Also the game used to be fun, but now it just seems to be a gear competition, who has the best gear... this is not my idea of fun or cool. Like i said the game is very good, i love the raid boss fights but, the amount of stress and effort involved in getting there isnt worth it for me personally."

Yakov Smirnoff wants his schtick back! Gear envy is an interesting phenomenon to me to me, though. Pureheart seems to disply an innate resistance to the mechanics of the end-game, but the problem is that the gear he seems to want is rewarded to players so that they can progress farther within it. Rarely does Blizzard throw a new encounter into the game without taking into account the best currently available gear, ensuring that said progression functions much like a step-ladder. In other words, gear that drops from Flame Leviathan, Razorscale, and XT-002 in Ulduar should prepare you well enough for the fights later in the dungeon. We often forget that high item-level equipment serves a function beyond looking cool, and that's where Pureheart's contradictions kill me. He rails against the very kind of person he reveals himself to be: a loot whore. He hates that World of Warcraft has turned into a gear competition, and yet, he seems angry because he feels that he is unable to obtain the gear that he desires.

"To sum up, to many annoying people and factors in the game, i cant handle it anymore and i dont want to waste time and effort trying, and i cant play without joining a guild because its to annoying when other players have better gear/mounts than me, so all the fun is taken away from this once rich and beautifulk world i really used to enjoy being in."

So fun is taken away when the game tries to challenge you? Would it honestly be better if any piece of gear was handed to you anytime you want? I suppose it does for this player, who so desperately wants to "[escape] the capatlist society of real life." Moving on. Tank Balance And Encounter Design Speaking of raiding, how do we feel about the difficulty of the dungeons? Even though this is a surprisingly insightful thread, I don't bring up Lyesmith's post specifically to talk about tanking. Rather, to shed light on the ways in how players react to, and shape, new encounters designed by Blizzard. Lyesmith's beliefs can be summed up as such:

"TL;DR: Tank balance has two sides: the player and the boss. If the bosses favor a particular style, then it will show up player side."

Essentially, his argument is that despite what Blizzard reps might say about tank choice ("bring the player, not the class") that certain encounters overwhelmingly favor one type of tank over another. For instance, Mimiron has several abilities that can instantly kill the tank, making a class with more "oh shit buttons" more efficient at taking the brunt of the damage. However, Nilzen claims that encounters are designed the other way around:

"But the truth is, players act a specific way due to encounter mechanics. Encounter mechanics are designed a certain way because of what Blizzard sees that players can do. Avoidance levels were too high. Blizzard makes bosses hit for 80% of a tank's hp because they otherwise avoid too much. Tanks stack stamina. Blizzard makes Impale and other mechanics to counter stamina stacking."

So, instead of creating bosses intentionally designed to favor certain tank or class combinations, he asserts that they're designed due to the way the players have reacted and dealt with encounters in the past. Both posters are more or less correct, as game balance is a never-ending cycle created by this dynamic relationship between trend-setting players and the raid design team. So, is there a way to keep tanks on their toes without relying solely on stacking one stat or another? Lyesmith and Nilzen both offered up the idea of making certain boss abilities slightly more random. Therefore, skill and reaction time would be more important than what class currently seems to be leading the pack. Other fine thoughts included increasing raid damage in order to taxs the healers (so keeping the tank up would become even tougher) and tuning down player stats across the board This brings me to the second point that I wanted to touch on, and it more directly relates to difficulty. You can argue that raids have gotten fundamentally easier over time. You can also argue whether or not most players have simply gotten better at playing the game over time. But one thing I don't think anyone can deny is how extra-mechanical elements such as mods and strategy sites have made "figuring out" any given encounter a lot easier than it once was. It seems that Ghostcrawler feels this way, too:

"If it feels like you aren't struggling to learn these fights as much as you used to, then that's probably true: there are now many sources for videos and strategies that have become a lot more robust and user-friendly, as well as pretty sophisticated UI mods to help you track everything going on. The whole raiding community is just more well-connected than it was in the MC and BWL days. Many casual raiders could name a handful of cutting-edge guilds these days, which just didn't happen 4 years ago."

Just think for a second how much tougher certain encounters might be if you didn't have Deadly Boss Mods counting down the time to the next use of an ability or even if in-game warning didn't flash on the screen when the boss was about to use a raid-wiping mechanic. Sure, add-ons like GRID might be slightly more kosher, as they primarily improve play control, but even they offer quick access to data that you'd otherwise have to click on individual players to figure out. The reason for the popularity of these mods is because they fundamentally reduce the innate chaos of an encounter by giving you access to information in an way that is much easier to process. If information is power, then it becomes even stronger than the best gear in the game. The problem is when said information becomes too convenient and starts outstripping its basic ability to reduce the chaos. At that point, it just plain makes a fight easier. And I haven't even touched on top-level strategies that are quickly formed by the best players and then posted on the internet for everyone else to follow. Usually, unless an encounter is changed drastically on live servers, these tactics are learned on the PTR, so you end up with the sort of situation we encounter time and time again where new bosses are being downed the first night they're widely available. I feel like I'm sort of making up for a few days of Blue Stew absence, but the fact of the matter is that this post is already running longer than it probably should be. If you're interested in this subject, I'd go ahead and read the rest of the thread as it's linked above, and I'm always up for rapping with you guys and gals in the comments section if you'd like to explore things further! Until next time, ta-ta!

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Proverb is a column discussing the lore of Warcraft. Comment and let us know what you would like to see in future columns! Many lore-minded players have likely heard about the new Druid quest in patch 3.2 for Horde players. It starts in Dalaran, and it involves a badly injured warrior by the name of Aponi Brightmane who wants to return to fight the Scourge. When players arrive in Thunder Bluff, Aponi speaks with Tahu Sagewind, a Druid. Their conversation touches on the history of Tauren druidism, notably Mu'sha. The full text is provided below, with what I think are the important parts in bold: Aponi Brightmane says: Talk to me, Tahu. Something. Anything! I'm going stir-crazy. Tahu Sagewind laughs softly. Tahu Sagewind says: All right, Aponi. I've enough on my mind to share. Have you ever spoken to the elves of Moonglade? Aponi Brightmane says: Not much. Tahu Sagewind says: The elves speak of a moon goddess, did you know? They put great stock in the light given by the moon. Aponi Brightmane says: Like Mu'sha. Tahu Sagewind says: Just like her. The parallels I've heard are interesting. And it's no secret all druids, Shu'halo and elf alike, can call upon Mu'sha's light. Aponi Brightmane says: Where are you going with this? Tahu Sagewind says: I wonder. Hamuul has guided us well, and I've learned so much from him. The legends sasy that our people were druids when time began... Aponi Brightmane says: I hear the "but" in your voice... Tahu Sagewind says: ...but what Hamuul teaches is what the elves know. The night elves. They put such stock in their moon goddess, as creatures of the night. Aponi Brightmane says: Do you think his teachings are wrong? Tahu Sagewind says: No! No, nothing like that. He is an elder for good reason, sister. Mu'sha is one of the Earthmother's eyes, and she watches over us. That isn't sinister. Tahu Sagewind says: But we're nothing if not people who strive for balance. Our warriors fight only when there is need. Our hunters take only what the tribes require to live, and use all they can when they do. The shaman stand as guide and mediator to the elemental spirits. Tahu Sagewind says: And while we, as druids, are guardians of nature, I wonder if we've overlooked a key aspect of balance in all things. Aponi Brightmane says: So are you going to bring this up to the elder? Tahu Sagewind says: No, no. No need for him to trouble about a student's idle philosophizing while he entertains a friend. Aponi Brightmane says: I suppose so. It's not silly, though, what you said. Tahu Sagewind says: Well, it isn't exactly a new thought, sister. Aponi Brightmane says: I see that thoughtful frown, Tahu. Tahu Sagewind says: Sorry, sister. Its nothing to worry about. Aponi Brightmane says: But something is on your mind, right? Tahu Sagewind says: I'm thinking about the front to the north. The one you're so eager to return to. Aponi Brightmane says: What about it? Tahu Sagewind says: I know I'm counseling patience, Aponi, but I don't like remaining here any more than you do. Times are bleak, and failing to act only makes me worry that my idle hand may have been the one to turn the tide. Tahu Sagewind says: Still... there is balance in all things, even death. I simply hate the concept that such destruction and darkness might be necessary. Aponi Brightmane says: There's a phrase... "Its always darkest before the dawn." The dawn will come, though, Tahu. The sun will rise. The balance will shift back to where it should be. Aponi Brightmane smiles and gestures to the north. Aponi Brightmane says: Even on the glacier itself, the sun manages to peek through the gloom. I have hope, Tahu. I think we'll make it through this, no matter how dire it looks. Aponi Brightmane says: But I'd still rather be there on the front lines helping it happen rather than trying to placate myself with belief. We can't just sit around and hope it happens. Tahu Sagewind says: I know, sister. I know. We'll return to fighting one day. For now, though, maybe it's best to spread the word to others... give them the hope you have. Aponi Brightmane says: And through that hope, strengthen our side in the fight? Tahu Sagewind says: That's the idea. The quest is unfinished and we don't know if it will be extended before patch 3.2 goes live. However, there are LOTS of references to the sun and "a new dawn" in there, even when they aren't talking about An'she. It is generally accepted that Malfurion Stormrage was the first (mortal) Druid, and the druidism that the Tauren speak of that they claim predates Malfurion is false or in a drastically different form from Cenarius' teachings. In fact, the latter might be the case, with the Tauren originally practicing an entirely different form of druidism focused on some form of the light. It could be that An'she and/or Mu'sha (Elune to the night elves) are actually Naaru, and Tauren could come to wield the holy light through the worship of the Earth Mother. Tauren mythology claims that An'she, the goddess of the sun, was an eye of the Earth Mother, ripped out and tossed through the cosmos, perused by the Earth Mother's other eye, the goddess Mu'sha/Elune. We could see all of this develop. Currently the only Horde race capable of being Paladins are blood elves, and it could be that Blizzard would like to expand that to give Horde players more of a choice. The other obvious conclusion would be that a new type of druid may be in the works. Druids already come in many flavors in the Warcraft mythology. Druids of the Sun could be a real possibly, and this could be a new hero class in the expansion. Most players agree that "Arch Druids" would simply be "super Druids" and would leave no room for regular druids in the game. Current druids are "Druids of the Wild" and are focused on shapeshifting, while Druids of the Sun could be something completely new. Blizzard has stated that they don't want new classes to simply be hybrids of other classes. I don't know what precisely a Druid of the Sun would do. They could come up with a whole new resource system outside of mana, like they did with Death Knights, to make the class very unique. In addition, it makes sense for Death Knights to be any race, but most other classes that players theorize about should have race restrictions, so I don't think this idea is too far out. With most players looking to the Maelstrom and the Emerald Dream in the theoretical new expansion "Cataclysm", its likely that Night Elf and Druid lore could play a major role. I think either or even both of the conclusions I discussed could happen. As for other races, we could also see Dlood Elf Druids. There were high elf druids prior to the second war who erected the Runestones which hid the elven magic from the Burning Legion, as well as protected Quel'thalas from attack from Arthas during the third war. They wielded the powers of nature through the arcane, and many of them became high elven rangers. Some half-elven druids became more feral and turned into savagekin. The high elven rangers that we raised by the Scourge became Dark Rangers, who turned to shadow magic instead of natural magic for their powers. It seems that some blood elves kept up the practice, such as High Botanist Freywinn and many of the Bloodwarder and Sunseeker blood elves currently (previously?) in the Botanica of Tempest Keep. It could be that from their redeemed light-given powers from M'uru and A'dal and the revelations of the Tauren studying the light, blood elves players could see druidism in their future. The line from the dialog "strengthen our side in the fight" really makes me think this may be the case. As for the Alliance, Wildhammer Dwarves are sort of back in the Alliance with an Alliance friendly base in Aerie Peak as well as their gryphon riders in Outland. Wildhammer dwarves are known to often worship nature and the elements and become druids and Shaman. Allowing Alliance players to create Wildhammer Dwarves of these classes would open up the number of races able to be Druids and Shaman in the Alliance to two, a perfect analog to Blood Elf druids and Tauren Paladins. Finally, perhaps this means we will see the Cenarian Circle join the fight in Icecrown. It would make the Icecrown Citadel fight even more epic. What do you think? Is this a red herring, or are these clues to a bigger development? As the Tauren NPCs say, may the eternal sun shine upon thee!

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A Goblin Zeppelin heading into Undercity. Pixiestixy broke the news last night about the mount changes that will be coming in the next major patch, 3.2. There are some additional news to note as Zarhym posted some more information about transportation changes which are being implemented to improve leveling: From the World of Warcraft Forums:

In the next major content patch we will be adding a few methods of improved transportation to areas of interest while leveling. It is time for the denizens of Azeroth to witness the full might of the Horde as they do what they do best: employ goblins to construct zeppelin towers and float players across vast seas using sky boats. That's right, a new zeppelin route is being added in Thunder Bluff and will transport players to Orgrimmar. Isn't technology magnificent? Also, brought to you by Azeroth's greatest users of magic, are all new portals coming to Stormwind and Orgrimmar. These portals will transport players directly to the Stair of Destiny at the Dark Portal. Travel is just so much more convenient when it's instantaneous! Players will then find that a new connecting flight path exists at the Stair of Destiny allowing players new to Outland easy and direct access to the city of Shattrath. Keep your seat backs and tray tables in a full upright and locked position, and we hope you continue to enjoy your methods of travel in Azeroth and beyond!

So even more changes are in store! Horde players I'm sure will be loving the new zeppelin between Orgrimmar and Thunder Bluff, while everyone can appreciate the instant transport to the Stair of Destiny to get you to the Outlands faster! These changes seem to fall in line with the Blizzard philosophy of making leveling more accessible and faster for players. As a player who has only one max level character and a multitude of alts I can really appreciate this! This is not the end of the changes of course as there are also changes coming to the class specific mounts and movement abilities, also found on the World of WarCraft Forums:

Movement Speed Training By Class

• Druid
  • Travel Form: Requires level 16
  • Flight Form: Requires level 60 (150% flight speed)
  • Swift Flight Form: Requires level 70
• Hunter
  • Aspect of the Cheetah: Requires level 16
• Shaman
  • Ghost Wolf: Requires level 16
• Paladin
  • Warhorse: Requires level 20
  • Charger: Requires level 40
• Warlock
  • Felsteed: Requires level 20
  • Dreadsteed: Requires level 40

No surprises from the class mount changes, but the movement ability changes are nice as getting ghost wolf, aspect of the cheetah and travel form earlier will be a really nice change for leveling! What do you think of these changes? Good or bad? Is Blizzard making it too easy for newer players?

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After revealing the new Druid bear-form skins just a couple of weeks ago, Blizzard promised that we'd get to see the new cat digs, too. And deliver, they have! Well, at least for Taurens (though I'm sure Night Elves can't be too far behind). Despite not being into the whole "accessorizing" thing as the bears seem to be, I'd have to admit that the cat reworkings come off a whole lot more impressive. The new bears maintains the same snarling, wide-eyed look as the original, but the cats... oh, no, they're sleeker. Meaner, even. So fierce!

Gone is the old nose: flat, open, and generally odd-looking like a raw ham pressed against a glass window. It's been replaced by one that features a wider bridge and a snout that evokes the image of a Corvette hood slicing through midnight air instead of a mere breathing device. Heck, it even has its own ornament in the form of  a thick ring clamped between the nostrils. And then there're the eyes, pulled wider, and narrowed to be more menacing. No longer must we deal with our cats' electric green eyeballs and their gormless stare. These new felines are badass killers and their bodies have changed to match. Their comically large fangs have been worn down into fine instruments of terror and flesh-rending. Clearly, they've been doing their share of eating, as well -- the old, emaciated form with riblines showing has given way to dense musculature and a more sculpted shape. And, hey, look at those braids! Fashionable! Tribal tattoos, more-rounded horns, actual knees, and four (count them, FOUR) toes on each paw round out the fancy new package. Druids the world 'round are sure to be happy with what Blizzard's done for their cats, though there is still no way to tell the differences in gender (as was asked by a female audience member at a Developer Q&A during the last World Wide Invitational). As with the Tauren bear forms, cat skins can also be chosen by changing your skin tone at the Barber Shop in an upcoming content patch. Blizzard has expressed no intention to offer any upgrades to tree-form Druids yet. Maybe something special around Christmas time? *wink wink*

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"Am I level 10 or 80? Who knows!" Blizzard just slipped us a sneak preview of the long-awaited updated models for the druid animal forms.  Currently, the preview only shows the tauren bear form, but they announced that the night elf bear form will be revealed by the end of the week. They mention that there are five different skins for each animal form per faction.  In other words, each druid will have access to five unique bear forms and five unique cat forms, which will differ from druids of the opposing faction.  The various skins are chosen and changed in the barbershop. I don't play a druid, but I wonder how I would feel if I waited this long for a new look to accompany my feral side.  All the other classes have been able to improve their gear and change their appearances drastically, but the poor bears and cats have been looking at the same models for over four years.  There must be throngs of druids jumping up and down at this announcement. For some reason, I was expecting more than just a simple cosmetic change via the barbershop.  How long will these new forms be interesting or exciting?  Don't get me wrong, the screenshots of the tauren bear forms look awesome, but I think the issue is deeper than that.  The problem is, these new models are still static.  They don't change as your character improves or gets new gear.  Unless they plan on implementing new skins on a regular basis, they, too, will get stale. These changes also do nothing for our healing druids in tree form. I can sympathize with the complexity of trying to integrate item upgrades onto multiple animal forms.  As it is, when they create a new item they have to make sure it looks right on twenty different models representing both genders of each race.  Adding item textures for the bear, cat and tree forms of both factions would be a huge drain of time and resources.  However, I can't help thinking there would be some way to at least have some visual representation of how well-geared you were while in these forms. Perhaps they could use the average item level of the equipped gear to determine how ferocious or predatory your toon looks.  They have similar technology already coded.  For example, the Flame Leviathan vehicles check the average item level of their driver to determine how powerful they should be.  How amazing would it be to have the top gear from Ulduar hard modes and strut around Dalaran in animal forms few others could duplicate?  A few glow and particle effects could easily differentiate a druid in heroic blues versus a druid decked out in tier 8.  Glowing eyes, saliva-dripping maws and bristling fur embody the druid's natural fury a bit better than a trip to the hair salon for a fur-frosting and dye job. Let us assume they added three visual upgrades with each raiding tier and included the neglected tree form as well.  Then for the 3.1 patch, they would have needed to design a total of eighteen new models, which includes different models for both the Horde and the Alliance.  This sounds reasonable to me and would certainly give druids of all types something to look forward to as they geared up and progressed through content.  In any case, I'm going to head over the official WoW forums so I can watch the shadow priests crying over not having new models for their shadowform! What do you think of Blizzard's announcement?  Are you satisfied or were you also hoping for something that scaled with gear?

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It's Nerf & Then Lots Of QQ Blizzard Poster Bornakk announced a new nerf to the engineering profession, although it is not the main focus of the nerf.  According to Bornakk, items with Stealth Detection were being used in unintended ways - way past their ilvl in many cases - in an effort to get an advantage, or equal footing, inside the Arenas.  Rather than try and rebalance the offending items, Blizzard has nerfed any and all items with a hint of stealth detection on them. If you have been participating in the Arenas while sporting anything but Ultra-Spectropic Detection Goggles or an engineering helm, then you will still posses some stealth detection.  The catch is that it isn't enough stealth detection to justify what you lose for equipping the item anymore.  The former item is no longer usable in Arenas, while the latter group has had their detection removed entirely, a choice that has engineers up in arms.  One passionate tinkerer exclaimed, "would you PLEASE just remove the profession."  And if you didn't hit the link up top, the changes have already been implemented.  A tooltip update is incoming as part of the next minor patch. My main is a rogue engineer so I am actually on both sides of the camp.  From a rogue standpoint, we are almost ecstatic because we can now sneak in for our openers with a lower chance of being seen.  Of course, rogue battles versus humans and their pesky passive stealth detection racial ability will still annoy us, especially rogue versus human rogue.  As an engineer, the nerf lowers the profession's utility further.  The helm that was crafted specifically for the Arena (or early raiding) is now useless with no inkling of an incoming buff to make up for its loss. I'm not going to go on a QQ rant over a single item though, especially since I don't Arena enough on Solidsamm to care.  Instead, I will QQ over the professions in general.  Let's not try to make professions all homogeneous like we did with raid buffing, as some players in the thread are suggesting.  In my opinion, each profession should offer their own special utility.  Blacksmiths can make their own gem slots, jewelcrafters have their rings, leatherworkers had their drums, etc. To me, engineering has always been about fun items, the Battle Chicken, the Harvest Reaper, the ROFLCopters.  We still have some of that but it's much less prevalent.  Wrath removed our collection of amusing gizmos and replaced them with recipes that are a requirement for all Arena engineers.  Essentially changing the role for an engineer from 'humorous accessory user' to that of a 'stealth detector.'  Now that role-changing item has been removed, and you wonder why we freak out?  You can't give someone candy and then take it away, not even if they get in your van. Which side are you on, or do you not PvP enough to care about the discussion one way or another?

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