Epic gems and profession changes in Patch 3.2
by Eliah Hecht 
Jun 16th 2009 at 11:40PM
With all the things I'm waiting to hear about in patch 3.2, completely unforeseen news takes me by surprise. Bornakk just revealed that epic gems are coming in that patch, as well as some changes to other professions.
Jewelcrafters will be able to buy epic gem cut patterns with their Dalaran Jewelcrafter's Tokens. Raw epic gems will be available from prospecting Titanium Ore and alchemy transmutations, and will also be buyable with both honor and Emblems of Heroism.
Given that the availability of epic gems raises the value of the Blacksmithing perk (extra sockets), other professions are having their perks buffed. Details after the cut.
- Alchemy:
- Benefits from Mixology for Northrend flasks/elixirs increased.
- A new flask usable only by alchemists, Flask of the North, which increases your Spell Power, AP, or Strength for 1 hour, and can be used in arenas.
- Endless Healing Potion and Endless Mana Potion no longer usable in arenas. Amount of health and mana has been increased, and the cooldown reduced. They are still usable everywhere else.
- Enchanting: Ring enchants buffed.
- Engineering: Hyperspeed Accelerators, Hand-Mounted Pyro Rocket, and Reticulated Armor Webbing buffed.
- Herbalism: Maximum rank of Lifeblood increased in healing, and Lifeblood now scales slightly from maximum health and is no longer affected by the GCD.
- Inscription: Shoulder enchants buffed.
- Jewelcrafting: Dragon's Eye gems buffed.
- Leatherworking: Fur Linings buffed.
- Mining: Maximum rank of Toughness buffed.
- Skinning: Maximum rank of Master of Anatomy buffed.
- Tailoring: Embroideries improved.
I'm most curious about that last one, since (in my opinion) Tailoring has some of the most lackluster perks right now. We'll see.
Patch 3.2 will bring about a new 5, 10, and 25 man instance to WoW, and usher in a new 40-man battleground called the Isle of Conquest. WoW.com will have you covered every step of the way, from extensive PTR coverage through the official live release. Check out WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.2 for all the latest!
Filed under: Herbalism, Jewelcrafting, News items, Patches, Enchanting, Tailoring, Leatherworking, Engineering, Blacksmithing, Alchemy, Skinning, Mining, Inscription
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
alpha5099 Jun 16th 2009 11:47PM
As someone who's been thinking about dropping skinning to pick up blacksmithing, I'm very curious to know how big a buff it's getting. I'd also like to see what the LW buffs are like.
nbcaffeine Jun 17th 2009 8:31AM
Blacksmithing is receiving no changes, due to the fact that the sockets scale up with the new gems.
Malkavos Jun 17th 2009 11:01AM
I think in the context "it" meant skinning. It should be equivalent to the gains BS will get from having 2 free epic gems instead of 2 free blue ones.
Current MoA rank six is 32 crit rating.
Rare quality crit gems are 16 apiece. Two of them = 32 crit rating.
Currently, there are epic gems in the game from the fishing dailies, they provide 20 points in a given stat as opposed to 16, so we may be able to assume that the upcoming epic gems will do the same
So if two epic crit gems = 40 crit rating, my working theory is that Rank 6 MoA will be 40 crit rating after the patch as well.
keith Jun 16th 2009 11:48PM
Nice to see Lifeblood scaling with health finally. :)
And taking it off the GCD is just icing on the cake!
Theo Jun 17th 2009 1:25AM
hooray!! no gcd on lifeblood!!! i wonder why they put it on there in the first place, it wasnt on there to start with in the first place..
Malkavos Jun 17th 2009 11:04AM
It's a good thing they're finally going to change it in the first place...
sydnius Jun 17th 2009 12:01AM
Sooo if alchemists will now be able to use flasks and engineers can continue to use their nets, why can tailors not use their nets?
Tom Jun 17th 2009 3:15AM
I don't get what you mean. What's wrong with frostweave nets?
Ruana Jun 17th 2009 8:07AM
@Tom
I think sydnius means in arenas.
furry Jun 16th 2009 11:55PM
Are you kidding? For pve, engineers have nothing at all. that embroidery is pretty cool, but all our special enchants are worse than ones we can get from enchanters, and the extra engineering thing we get from them are pretty much worthless in a raid.
theRaptor Jun 17th 2009 12:15AM
Yeah if you are bad. If you do the numbers and use all your enchants and bombs (1 minute CD, don't trigger GCD, brilliant for AoE) they come out ahead. If you just want a passive +damage then yes engineering is terrible.
How terrible of Blizzard to make a bonus that requires effort to use and can give massive boosts if used appropriate to the situation. Shame on them.
avis Jun 17th 2009 1:12AM
I'll admit that the dps ones can be decent, but engineers have absolutely nothing for tanking and healing, 2% threat and 10 parry > 800 armor, and nothing aimed at healing at all.
Hagu Jun 17th 2009 12:55AM
@theraptor - I really disagree. As a Holy Pally in PvE then I don't see any of the engineering benefits that are worth having, certainly that compare to the 38 incremental spell power that the other professions now have. Actually giving up the 23 haste to get 18 sp is a slight downgrade but slowfall probably makes it even; not near an incremental 18; certainly not +38. The last pawn values I saw on EJ had 1 haste as about 5/6 of a SP, so if the +18 were 19 or twenty you would break even, still leaving you 38 less spellpower than an enchanter, bS, LW, scribe, etc.
Some things are opinions, but the math for PvE healers is clear. I guess if Blizzard were going to make engineering viable, they would have done it by or long before 3.2, so I guess it is time for blacksmithing.
Charneldeath Jun 17th 2009 3:15AM
@Avis
You obviously do not tank
Arms is the worst enchant ever for tanking. 800 armor is MILES above it sir!
Kay Jun 17th 2009 3:17AM
@theraptor
The problem is your math, even if correct, depends on 2 things.
1. Spending the resources/gold for a steady stream of bombs on every encounter, every fight, every raid.
2. And this is the important one. You did the math for a specific class/spec. Some classes get a nice dps boost from haste. Some classes get an average boost from haste. Some classes get an ABYSMAL boost from haste. One class/spec, elemental shaman (which my engi happens to be) gets 0 practical dps benefit from haste unless it comes in signficiantly large increments. Haste was just a truly awful cheap way out on engi's perk for pve dpsers. It benefits some classes yes, but other classes not so much. None of the other professions seem to punish you for having a specfic class or spec in terms of the perk.
Balius Jun 17th 2009 6:25AM
And mages get nothing from mining.
furry Jun 17th 2009 7:39AM
@Balius
Mining, herbalism, and skinning are all collecting professions and while you do get something, it is very restrictive what you get compared to other "creating" professions.
However, Since mages are floor mats more often than not ;-) , I'd say that the extra stamina is definately more than nothing.
Really- a self-heal, +crit, +stamina- while not necessarily the best thing one could ask for in all cases these are all helpful things to have regardless of what way you look at it.
Mister EDgAr Jun 17th 2009 8:07AM
I just wish they would have given us something we actually could sell... -_-
Gnosh Jun 17th 2009 8:47AM
@edgar
You mean you haven't tried jacking up ammo prices yet? How about selling scopes that cost 40g to make for 200g? Engineers on my server have been pulling that garbage since BC, and it continues to this day.
Popesicle Jun 17th 2009 10:42AM
I know this is said every time this debate comes up, but honestly, why does every thing have to be equal in this game. Engineering, to me, is far superior to any other profession simply because it's the most fun. If you are that concerned over min/maxing, then shouldn't you be a BS & JC or whatever the latest craze is?
I didn't pickup engineering because I wanted a few more DPS at endgame, I picked it up and leveled it completely because it's a blast to have. I love my pyro rocket and my nitro boosts, and my gnomish lightning generator...even if they do have limited use.