Psst...want some WotLK alpha talent info?
by Eliah Hecht 
May 20th 2008 at 3:30PM
As you may have noticed, Blizzard sent us a request that we remove unreleased information relating to spells and talents in Wrath of the Lich King, and we have chosen to comply with that request. However, obviously that cat is out of the bag (and was before we got there), and if you want to find that information, one good place to look for it is the Wotlk leaks wiki.From flight paths to pictures to spells and talents (including those for Death Knights) to profession information, that wiki is a great resource for unreleased information. Obviously this is stll alpha information, and everything is unfinished and changeable -- if any of you were playing WoW in alpha or beta, you know how much things changed before release (and after). Still, it's nice to get a glimpse of what's in store.
Filed under: Blizzard, Death Knight, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
VIrusz May 20th 2008 3:35PM
FIRST!
And ya'll need to forgive Eliah :-/
Thanks gang!
Shalmaneser May 20th 2008 3:38PM
This is a pretty half assed response. You comply with the censorship, but then post a link to all the info you won't post. So in the end your saying we lay down to Blizzard but please don't hate us. This whole thing is embarrassing. It's gamespot all over again.
Patrick Aug 3rd 2008 6:33PM
mmo-champion took it down and already put it back up.
Fugmug May 20th 2008 4:01PM
Uh no.
Let's cut the melodramatic nonsense.
No one was inappropriately fired here due to anyone complying or not complying with a request.
Insider has a relationship with Blizzard, and one that *MUST* be maintained. You don't have to like it. It's just how things are.
Fug
Shalmaneser May 20th 2008 4:10PM
I'm not saying that WoW Insider should stick it's finger in Blizzard's eye. But you can't claim to be neutral then take special favors, Blizzcon, based on doing what Blizzard wants. This is just a clear sign of a lack of independence.
PimpyMicPimp May 21st 2008 12:34AM
I'm with Shalmaneser. Having unreleased info on your site and having a link to a site with unreleased info arn't much different. Might as well have told Blizzard to shove it.
I'm as interested in this information as anyone else and I don't see this as "melodramatic nonsense", just an honest observation.
ninjasuperspy May 20th 2008 3:44PM
I still want that armor with attached libram. If you somehow make it a color variation of Judgment that isn't purple/pink/lavender then I just might forgive Crystalforge.
And what's up with that Martyr spell? What spec of paladin would touch it with a 10 foot pole? It would kill your average ret paladin immediately, Holy paladins want to heal other people (unless we get some kind of HoT/Instant heal to take the heat off of ourselves) and prot paladins are getting spells cast at them anyway because they are tanking in the first place. It is a horrible spell in all cases. Unless they plan on removing Blessing of Protection's "-100% threat for the duration" effect (which would stop all spells being cast at the target in the first place) then I really can't see a use for it.
I saw something called "Howl of the Crusader" on another WotLK leak site, and it looked pretty cool. It placed JotC on everything in range, can you say Consecrate? However I'd bet it is an ability for Arthas to use in CoT:Stratholme. It doesn't seem too useful: it is a buff to paladin damage only (and LoLSmite) that only lasts for 15 seconds and only synergizes with one spell.
vanye111 May 20th 2008 3:55PM
There are a lot of things for Pallys, not just the one spell, plus two priest spells:
Holy Fire, Smite, and Consecrate.
One aura: Retribution.
Aura: Righteousness
Blessing of Sanctuary.
Judgement/Seal of Blood
Judgement/Seal of Command
Holy Shock
Brien May 20th 2008 4:11PM
I'm sure making yourself invulnerable and then directing all the damage to you is useless for all specs.
Manatank May 20th 2008 4:11PM
Retribution aura does not scale with spell damage, so it gets no benefit from judgment of the crusader.
ninjasuperspy May 20th 2008 4:16PM
@vanye111: Sorry, I was meaning to say that unless you have a group of damage dealing Holy Priests and Paladins of any stripe then having JotC on mobs that the paladin isn't attacking (unless some flavor of paladin gets an AoE Judgment) is good for 15 seconds of boosted AoE damage, which Paladin's by and large lack. And if you've got people attacking a bunch of different mobs then you probably need to discuss kill order or you are fighting non-elites.
Also Ret Aura doesn't benefit from JotC. I'm pretty sure that BoSanc doesn't either, but I haven't been prot in a while, so I'm probably wrong there.
Still, being able to judge a ton of mobs might be nice. Imagine the Prot AoE Grind possibilities! If there's a Howl Of X for each Seal and it has a longer range (30 yards) then it might be the fix for the Holy Paladin dilemma (not ever casting a seal in instanced combat). Though why not save some spell descriptors and just have "Howl of Judgment" judge a seal on everything in range?
Manatank May 20th 2008 5:17PM
"And what's up with that Martyr spell?"
I'd say that aside from oh crap moments in PvE, this is really meant for PvP. Especially if you can cast it with divine shield up. Huge buff to any sort of paladin in an arena.
ninjasuperspy May 20th 2008 5:28PM
@Manatank: All I can think is either it is an arena buff or there are going to be a large amount of untauntable spellcaster mobs in Wrath. I thought that being the Parry and Spellcaster tank was the DK's thing, but I guess that Paladins get in on that action a bit too. I mean those are the only mobs I can see this having any traction on in PvE. If I can taunt it, RD is better (though it still needs a macro to be "fire and forget"), if it is one mob not firing AoE then I can just BoP to get it to leave the squisy with aggro. So spellcasters that a prot paladin can't taunt... And this is common enough to make a spell for. Interesting.
Just watch out for that AoE, I'm sure that taking all the damage caused to four people by one fireball might make you a crispy critter.
jbodar May 20th 2008 6:26PM
Why couldn't you tab target to refresh judgement? Also, Blessing of Sanctuary is Holy damage.
ninjasuperspy May 20th 2008 8:07PM
@jbodar: I guess you could... I don't know if I'd do it as ret with a 3.5+ speed slow weapon. And as they are now, I don't feel great running around in melee as a Holy paladin. It might work as prot, but a lot of your threat is Seal of Righteousness, right? I mean write off Seal of Vengeance completely if you aren't attacking the same guy all the time...
Still even if you do the tab target dance, nobody benefits who isn't striking the other judged targets. And no tank I know is really happy with people attacking a bunch of different mobs. I guess if it is cheaper than casting Judgment a bunch of times you might save on mana for the prep judgment for each mob if you aren't chaining judgment for dps purposes and don't mind diluting your dps over a bunch of targets at once.
That said I still think it is an ability for Arthas. Something like a "Driven to madness by slaughtering his own subjects, Prince Arthas lets out a tormented roar!" sort of thing. Then the Big A and his paladin squad all get a damage buff that doesn't require him to respect the Skull Mark.
I'm sure we can all agree that Arthas's belt is killer. Hang the book on the right side and it wouldn't interfere with one handed weapon sheathing. Make different librams look different and I'd be more than happy.
berserkerlxl May 21st 2008 1:47AM
Why not give them
crusader sting
crusader poison
crusader charge
crusader sprint
crusader trap
crusader armor
conjure crusader biscuits
w/e you get what I mean
Kyle May 20th 2008 3:48PM
This is a pathetic response. If I were you I would have pulled the info down upon getting a guarentee from Blizzard that you will be considered media and instead of getting our info on the WotLK from other sites, that they include you guys in them.
Absolutely pathetic, its not like Blizzard gives a $h!t about you anyways, so why play nice and remove obvisously valid info that serves no benefit to you?
I like your commentary but you really F'd this up.
alittan May 20th 2008 4:04PM
I think it's awesome what you guys are doing. Everywhere blizz is forbidding websites to post news, but all the players want is some more info on what they're getting :P. It'll only make them want the game more badly, sure as hell did that to me! Arthas looks awesome btw.
Greg May 20th 2008 3:50PM
What a cop-out. Just don't try to pretend that you're actual journalists at any point in the future. Have fun at BlizzCon. Ignore those pangs - that's just your integrity dying.
native May 20th 2008 3:52PM
this is the most pathetic attempt ever to try and save face.
i'm actually a little sad for you.