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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast Topic: Not a patch day
by Zach Yonzon 
Jan 27th 2009 at 8:00AM
Today is not patch day. That's actually the good news. Despite the bug fixes that Ghostcrawler promised should come up after regular weekly maintenance, there doesn't seem to be signs of a patch. Adam contends there's possibly a patch because some fixing needs to be done client side. At any rate, there will be no hat eating today, and even if there is a tiny patch, it's still not a patch patch. Right now we're still reeling from the aftermath of the disastrous Patch 3.0.8 which received some mixed reactions. Even Hunters, who were supposed to get a nerf, simply re-specced to Survival and went along their merry DPS meter-topping ways. Warlocks were supposed to get a buff, but instead got a bug in the form of a 2-minute cooldown to Ritual of Summoning. Let's not even talk about PvP where Wintergrasp crashed everything and Arenas were disabled because, well, the new undocumented ratings system just plain sucked.
So if there's anything to be thankful for today, it's that it's not a patch day. Not an official one, at any rate. When the servers come up later today, what do expect to find? No more lag? Fixed items? Fixed spells? Or, are you willing to wager -- eating your hat, maybe -- that today's "fix" will only bring more bugs?
Update: Alex here! Silly Zach, today is a patch day! It's a minor patch, bringing us up to v3.0.8.9506. The same questions here all apply, though. What fixes are you hoping to see today? Will game experience improve after today's maintenance?
Filed under: Patches, Bugs, Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 5)
Tzivya Jan 27th 2009 8:45AM
I'm a formerly-BM-formerly-MM hunter who is SV now and tops the meters. So now you've seen one!
That said, I love my class, and have played it since day one of the game. I have one max level character, and it's my hunter. So I do my best to play her well.
I am unthrilled about the nerfs in 3.0.8, because I did enjoy playing BM, and I miss my spirit beast. That said, there is a symmetry to it. In Vanilla, I was MM. BC came, and BM became viable. Now that is gone, and it's time to play SV.
I am enjoying it. And while I generally top the meters, I'm not crushing them like I was; it's neck and neck. Someone has to top them, and I don't think it's bad that it is hunters, as we offer little enough utility outside raw dps.
I also feel rogues should be massively buffed. But I'm strange that way.
Zach Jan 27th 2009 10:52AM
Hrm. All the top Hunters in my Guild (three of them in the Top 5) were 50/21/0 before the patch. They re-specced Surv post 3.0.8 and occupy the same slots on the meters. Blizzard didn't nerf Hunter DPS. They nerfed BM and buffed Survival. Net result: same DPS as before.
Odessus of Kargath Jan 27th 2009 12:27PM
I'm just saying, not all hunters that were once top as BM then respecced to SV will be top in meters.
Survival takes timing and has a more involved shot rotation than BM. I played with a BM > SV hunter last night in heroic Naxx last night and he was 1500 dps below mine (I too was BM, and switched to SV). The truly skilled players will continue to top dps meters while the unskilled will do worse.
burcemage Jan 27th 2009 8:35AM
You can call this a Patch day or Not. In my eye's this was just them fixing the issue in had they had with the bug and crashes they had. The major patch came the 20 jan. But im still happy that blizz is working on this and the more and more we go i think the better it's going too get. Now for the bashing and whinning everyone is saying about, Wowinsider are just stating there opinion and im fine with that i still find it intresting too read. For the ppl that complained about that in this thread how come your even reading this if it bothers you soo mutch, and even at the point where you even made a comment. When i see something i dont like i dont read it yet alone comment on it.
Im saying thanks Wowinsider because i love the casual reading and updated of wow.
Have a good day.
Turlagh Jan 27th 2009 8:39AM
Maybe not a "disaster", but it was the worst that I've seen in the 1.5 years that I've been playing WoW. And they did not fix the Prowl bug like they promised in the patch notes.
Maksimun Apr 3rd 2009 4:42PM
I expect nothign. I just cancelled my account. Good luck to you all with this new Bliz... I mean, Activision game.
Zerrian Jan 27th 2009 8:44AM
You say in the post that hunters respeced to survival to top the DPS meters? I'd like to see some of these talent specs since my MM Hunter has been suffering ever since the preWotLK talent patch.
Sakinah Jan 27th 2009 10:38AM
Really? My MM has been more viable since the talent patch, and doesn't seem to be too badly affected by the new changes. Sure, I use volley less, but I never used it too much to begin with. Never had to.
Still holding pretty steady on the damage meters. Might it be some minor tweaks to glyphs and spec to compensate?
Bastinator Jan 27th 2009 8:46AM
I don't see how everyone is claiming 3.0.8 as a 'disaster'. Nothing was especially game-breaking aside from Wintergrasp blowing up servers, and that was fixed within the first day or so.
Tzivya Jan 27th 2009 8:48AM
There is a bug fix patch, but I will concur that 3.0.8 -> 3.0.8a doesn't qualify as 'patch day', which has connotations of major change or content additions.
My big complaint:
The new blizzard launcher and patcher do not obey system default browser preferences, and insist on opening clicked-on links in IE.
/That/ is unconscionable.
Tinious Jan 27th 2009 8:49AM
Ironically, I just confirmed these guys to speak at EclipseCon eclipsecon.org later in March. I've been trying to convince folks in my technology space the similarities we face with WoW - multi-billion dollar ecosystem, rich 3rd party tools ecosystem, steep learning curve challenges, driving innovation from your users, etc. Luckily someone else has been working hard on the topic too.
Tinious Jan 27th 2009 8:50AM
replied to wrong thread. FAIL. sry
Zhire Jan 27th 2009 8:50AM
@Draenors: Stupid hunters? What about asshat 'locks? or every other class in the game...?
Also SV spec is not, by any means "hard". Don't let people fool you. That aside, there's just as much 'button mashing' in SV...just replace Arcane Shot with ES. There's nothing hard about weaving shots....ever stop to think that some people like BM just because they LIKE it? Not all BM (or MM) players are noobs, tyvm; sorry if you've had some unfortunate experience. =\
Sakinah Jan 27th 2009 10:44AM
From a MM hunter who is sick and tired of being lumped in with the facerollers: Thank you! We get a bad rap, but there are a lot of us who know how to do what we do well.
Flint Jan 27th 2009 11:45AM
Yeah, exactly. I'm a BM hunter, always been one and always will be one simply because I love the spec thematically. Whether I top any sort of charts or not has never stepped into it.
Calaana Jan 27th 2009 8:53AM
Dear "OMG U R RONG IZ PATCH" readers,
At the end of the first paragraph(You did read it, right?), is this little gem of a quote:
"At any rate, there will be no hat eating today, and even if there is a tiny patch, it's still not a patch patch. "
The word patch, when used socially, suggests sizable game changes, not bug fixes(Though fixes are usually included). While yes, there is indeed patch data, it is not a "real" patch to it's social meaning. Imagine a toy R/F car, while car is the name for it, it's not really a car despite sharing enough features you could argue it's inclusion in the subject name until the cows come home.
In closing, please return to grade one and relearn how to read.
Thank you, humanity
GrayElf Jan 27th 2009 9:04AM
Thank you for sharing your personal opinion of what constitutes a patch.
However, the very strong argument could be made that anything that is downloaded to modify the client is, by definition, a patch. Perhaps not a "patch patch", to use the OP's term - but nevertheless, and quite undeniably, a patch. As the edit to the OP acknowledges...
GrayElf Jan 27th 2009 8:58AM
Probably because it IS the worst thing that has happened to some people in their (WoW) lives?
Face it, experiences vary - some people hardly noticed, some peoples' games were ruined. Assuming that others experienced the same thing you did, and are just whining, is foolish. Numerous people have posted saying it has ruined their game (or something along those lines), and not having played the things they enjoy, on their server, at the same time as them - how can you say they're exaggerating?
(No, it wasn't the worst thing that ever happened to me - but I'm disgusted nevertheless)
duh Jan 27th 2009 9:02AM
if it's a patch it's a patch..
Bottom line
where the heck do you get these writers at wowinsider?
"even if there is a tiny patch, it's still not a patch patch. "
this just boggles my mind..
MK Jan 29th 2009 1:34PM
As long as Malygos gets fixed, I'll be a happy camper.