WoW, Casually: What Patch 3.0.8 holds for casual players
by Robin Torres 
Dec 13th 2008 at 11:00AM
Patch 3.0.8 is on the horizon and there are a lot of interesting changes coming our way. Leveling will become even more convenient, some fundamental gameplay changes are being made and classes are being adjusted... again. While these changes affect everyone, I'll be going over the ones that will particularly matter to those of us with limited playtime.
(Edited to add:) What you won't see here is Dual Specs. They are scheduled for Patch 3.1.
Although this info is currently on the PTR (or Public Test Realm for those of you not into acronyms), this does not mean that it is final. A lot of things could change before this patch goes live, but as things stand, here is a list of changes to be ready for.
Mounts for everybody!
If you are into Achievements or just didn't like the mount choices you had, you can look forward to riding any mount your faction has access to in the upcoming patch. As a Tauren Druid, I never liked the Kodo and have often wished for more options. That having been said, if I do get a pretty hawkstrider, it will just be to sit on my mount tab. I just don't see my noble Tauren lady riding something so frou frou.
Even more Death Knights
I am on record for loving the new Death Knight class. As of Patch 3.0.8, there is now an 8th reason to make a DK: having a higher level character to play with your friends on other servers. Currently, you can only make a Death Knight on the same server that you have a level 55 character, but after the next patch, you will be able to make a DK on any server as long as you have a level 55 somewhere. This is great if you have friends strewn across servers, but don't want to spend a long time leveling up a new character to hang with them.
More graveyards, faster death travel
Hardcore players are already decking out their level 80s in purples, but many more casual players are still leveling up mains and alts in the old world. (I certainly am.) With 60 new graveyards being added to both of the old continents, dying will become much less inconvenient. And as if that weren't enough, everyone's runspeed while dead has been increased. So gank away griefers! I'll just run back and blink away before your emote macro has completed.
Tapping will get easier
"All player spells which cause a creature to become aggressive to you will now also immediately cause the creature to be tapped." I'm not sure why they changed this particular game mechanic after so long, but I only see this as a positive change. Basically, in order to get the experience and loot from a mob, you and your groupmates currently need to actually do damage to a mob. This means that casting a DoT, which takes a tick before it does damage, or a debuff currently will not actually mark the creature right away as yours even though it will now attack you. So you may get aggro, but someone else may have tapped it and will get the kill. But after the next patch, any spell that catches your target's attention will tag it as yours for experience and loot -- as long as you and your teammates kill it. This isn't really a huge change, in my opinion, but you should be aware of it when questing in heavily populated areas.
Many class changes
I won't go over them all here, but there are a lot of class changes coming for most classes. Hunters got nerfed. Death Knights got buffed. Mages got adjusted. You should really take a look at the patch notes to see what is in store for your favorite class -- make sure you look both under your class's section and in the Bug Fixes section. Also, keep an eye on WoW Insider's class columns for further analysis as we get more information on the changes.
Well, I'm off to work through the rest on my mage and possibly get my druid on an exercise regimen so that those Blood Elf bimbos won't be quite so cruel to me in the future.
WoW, Casually is a column for those of us who are playtime-challenged and proud Welfare Epic wearers. If you have questions or tips about how to get the most out of your limited playtime, please send them to Robin.Torres AT weblogsinc DOT com for a possible future column.Filed under: Patches, Analysis / Opinion, WoW, Casually
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Wiki Dec 13th 2008 11:11AM
Faster death speed? About time. I've been feeling like I needed to go faster. Now maybe death will finally catch me.
Thander Dec 13th 2008 11:42AM
Yeah, it sucks to be moving a minimum of 100% speed on ground. Then, dying and moving at 30 or 50% (whatever current speeds are now). I'm assuming this buff will make it 75% speed which is closer to mount speed.
ancalimon Dec 13th 2008 12:56PM
so is everyone going to have wisp speed? or are NE's going to be faster still? not that its a racial i will be upset about sharing now, just wondering.
Talia Dec 13th 2008 1:30PM
@ancalimon: NEs will be going faster still.
DragonFireKai Dec 13th 2008 5:12PM
I'd cut my ghost running speed in half if it meant I could ignore slopes. Just let me straight line it.
Fuseitana Dec 14th 2008 9:26AM
I'd just like to be able to run through the stupid fences that surround graveyards. I mean, I'm a ghost, whoever heard of a picket fence stopping a ghost?
Corvak Dec 23rd 2008 1:04PM
Can't wait...will definitely help Tauren with that awkward mount achievement :D
onetrueping Dec 14th 2008 1:14AM
Well, it would, but the number of mounts required by the achievement has also been adjusted upwards.
A lot.
So now everyone has to work hard, even the gnomes and blood elves.
About time, I says. It never sat right with me, that a mechanical mount couldn't hold a Draenei or Human, or that a Hawkstrider couldn't be bred larger or a skeletal horse be magically reinforced. It just seemed so... arbitrary.
Maybe they could represent the change by altering the size of the mount slightly to match the rider? Imagine gnomes on small Elekks, or the size of the skeletal horse a Tauren would be riding... impressive, to say the least!
Must have been a Clydesdale in life.
Strongmark Dec 13th 2008 11:15AM
I could have sworn a while back that the DoT already tagged the mob as yours, even if it didn't do damage. I think the big difference is strictly the aggro of the mob which now becomes yours even if you are just running through an area on your mount.
Matchu Dec 13th 2008 11:20AM
As a Warlock, I can attest that just putting a spell on a mob doesn't tag it as yours.
mds Dec 13th 2008 11:32AM
No, not just riding through - you must take a deliberate, aggressive action towards a critter, even if it does not immediately take damage.
For every person that has had their chosen target dotted up and then instantly moonfire-tapped by a druid, then had to do the honor of killing the druid's tap for them, this is a giant relief.
vazhkatsi Dec 13th 2008 12:32PM
where as people who tap a creature i have all dotted up generally just go off and make me kill it. for no loot, and to xp.
Grinn Dec 13th 2008 1:28PM
My Shadow Priest has lost more than a few quests mobs after I pulled them with Shadow Word Pain only to have someone instant cast upon them before my DOT ticked enough to cause damage.
Also, while I hear that therre was good reason to buff DK tanking talents, especially in the Blood tree, aren't they a little OP overall right now? Maybe by the time I am in heroic Naxx there DPS will be in line, but running heroics five mans and BGing they seem like easy mode uber deeps. Am I wrong?
Thiosion Dec 13th 2008 1:52PM
@mds
For every person that has had their chosen target dotted up and then instantly moonfire-tapped by a druid, then had to do the honor of killing the druid's tap for them, this is a giant relief.
I love you. Stealth-moonfiring has made me want to test gravity's affect on laptops-being-thrown-out-of-second-story-windows on multiple occasions.
Amaxe Dec 13th 2008 3:01PM
There certainly have been times that, not knowing the mechanic, I assumed the lock or priest was casting some sort of aggro dump and that the mob was up for grabs, so this will be good to avoid accidentally grabbing someone else's mob.
On the other hand, when some jerk sees me moving for a mob and tries to mark it first so I can kill it "for him" that is less welcome.
Abbadon Dec 13th 2008 5:07PM
I have both a lock and a SP, and the slow-dot-tag has frustrated me for a very, very long time! It's ridiculous that I can currently get off THREE instant dots and still lose the mob. For things that really matter, I had to start using shadowburn and SWdeath.
I believe the author underestimates just how big an impact this will have; it is a much welcome change that is LONG OVERDUE.
Strongmark Dec 13th 2008 11:27AM
I am clearly wrong then... lol, I just really really think I read this like a year ago on WoWinsider that they were going to make the change, perhaps that change never flew..
Frank Dec 13th 2008 11:38AM
i want to be able to mount up as a ghost. hi-ho, ghost elekk, awaaaay!
Satorides Dec 13th 2008 6:33PM
Dots and debuffs tappiong a mob - - this is no little thing. Anyone who has struggled in a zone with Deathknights grabbing your mob and flying it over your head into their arms as it runs at you (so damned annoying) - - knows very well the balance this will bring to grinding - quest mobs and leveling. Very nice!
Tophy Dec 13th 2008 11:54AM
One question...
They aren't removing the Exalted with the specific city requirement to buy the mounts are they? It seems each time a read a post about this it just simply says "ride any mount you want." I just want to make sure if the Exalted req. is still going to be active.
http://lightbeacon.blogspot.com/