Patch 5.2 interview with Dave Kosak
Inside an old alt's vault
The latest patch 5.2 news
All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsLove is in the Air event plagued by bugs
by Daniel Whitcomb 
Feb 6th 2011 at 5:00PM
- Quests for the faction leader gifts currently point to faction leaders who died in the Cataclysm, including Cairne and Magni.
- The dailies and main quest chain currently do not function for level 81-85 characters, leaving anyone who has a new 85 or just didn't get around to doing the quests in previous years unable to finish their achievements.
- It's hard or impossible to buy certain special vendor items due to errors that show up when you click on them.
- Apothecary Hummel is sometimes not showing up in the LFD tool for level 81-85 characters.
Nephadne"Apothecary Hummel, survivor of the Royal Apothecary Society purge, has started scheming again and word has it that he's looking for a cunning way to quickly spread his dangerous mind-altering alchemical formulas throughout the populace. Working with those business savvy goblins, he seems to have created the Crown Chemical Corporation to launch in tandem with the annual 'Love is in the Air' celebration taking place across Azeroth.
Suspicious of the upstart company's overnight success, the Steamwheedle Cartel has decided to recruit any interested and foolhardy adventurers to begin investigations into the corporation's strange dealings. Perhaps the chase will eventually lead to a final showdown with Apothecary Hummel and his co-conspirators in their secret lair..."
It's that bewitching time of year again, when NPCs and players alike go to great lengths to attract a better half, and the intoxicating smell of attraction carries on the wind... We've plenty planned to keep you amused this year, single or attached, so without further ado here's a quick rundown of the major attractions;
Decorations and Love Boats
We'll be adding some romantic adornments to all the major cities to set the mood, as well as putting on a private Love Boat service in certain selected romantic destinations for you and your chosen one to enjoy a scenic moment of alone time together.
Crown Chemical Co.
The Crown Chemical Corporation will be setting up shop once again, ready to Peddle their wares and be generous with their quests to all willing to approach these lovely stalls...
For any of you real old timers, don't forget that the format of this holiday has changed somewhat this year and last and that you'll need to pick up your Lovely Charm Collector's Kit from everyone's favourite scantily-clad flying Goblin, Mr Kwee Q. Peddlefeet, in order to begin collecting the Lovely Charms you'll need in order to create Lovely Charm Bracelets and get your hands on those ever elusive Love Tokens!
Apothecary Hummel
Whether you're interested in trying to get to the bottom of the Crown Chemical Co.'s strange doings or not, don't forget to pay Apothecary Hummel a few brief visits nonetheless... he and his Apothecary cronies have holed up in Shadowfang Keep (although the specific NPCs in the major cities should get you there much more quickly) and, if you can sniff them out and rub their noses in some sweet defeat, you should find yourself handsomely rewarded for your troubles!
That's just a small snippet of the hearty array of delightful diversions on offer but, before we love you and leave you, here are the answers to some potential questions you may be having;
Q: How do I get these Lovely Charms then? I'm confused...
A: As long as you have a Lovely Charm Collector's Kit on you, you should be able to start collecting Charms in the course of going about your daily business killing mobs that would normally give you experience or Honor.
Q: I just killed something, but I didn't get one! Why you no love me?!
A: There's only a chance to receive a Lovely Charm with each kill – you didn't think we were going to make it that easy, did you?
Q: So, how does the Apothecary Hummel thing work this year? Like the Brewfest and Hallow's End bosses?
A: That's correct! Apothecary Hummel obviously has some loot himself, but when you complete the associated quest each day you'll be awarded with a very special box... hopefully you'll find your heart's desire inside, as no swapsies of the contents will be possible between friends or party members!
Q: I don't seem to be able to turn in the 'A Gift for the Lord of Ironforge' quest. They took my Magni, but I <3 him...!
A: Unfortunately Mr Peddlefeet has yet to be informed of this regrettable turn of events, but we'll be trying to make sure he's re-educated as soon as possible. In the meantime, please shower your affection on any of your other loyal and devoted faction leaders, and we're sure Muradin will hopefully be stealing your hearts back in no time!
Q: Ditto the 'A Gift for the High Chieftain' quest! RIP Cairne... :'(
A: As with the corresponding miscommunication above, this is something we're working to rectify as soon we're able. Apologies for any disappointment, inconvenience or heartbreak caused in the interim, however.
Q: Why is my Heart-Shaped Box empty? That's taking things to a whole new level of rejection!
A: Actually, all the Heart-Shaped Boxes contain 24 Justice Points, so none of these containers of affection can actually be considered to be empty... If you're receiving the message 'There is no loot.', that really only means there's no additional loot this time around.
Keep trying though, as there are some lovely treats available for the luckier amongst you!
Q: Why can't I get to Apothecary Hummel using the LFD Tool? It's not there!
A: If you're level 84 or above, you can now make use of the Steamwheedle Shyster <Dungeonmaster> NPCs located in most of the major cities in order to make your way swiftly (and with the minimum of fuss) to meet the Apothecary in battle!
Q: I'm having issues with the vendors – apparently I can't buy what I want because 'You can't buy the specified quantity of that item'. Help!
A: We're aware that there seem to currently be some issues with attempting to purchase the items bought in stacks already, but in the meantime you should be able to get around the error message by making use of the /run BuyMerchantItem() script.
Here are the appropriate values for all the affected items;
Lovely Rose ► /run BuyMerchantItem(2)
"Bravado" Cologne ► /run BuyMerchantItem(3)
"STARWART" Cologne ► /run BuyMerchantItem(4)
"Wizardry" Cologne ► /run BuyMerchantItem(5)
"VICTORY" Perfume ► /run BuyMerchantItem(6)
"Forever" Perfume ► /run BuyMerchantItem(7)
"Enchantress" Perfume ► /run BuyMerchantItem(8)
Handful of Rose Petals ► /run BuyMerchantItem(11)
Love Rocket ► /run BuyMerchantItem(12)
Silver Shafted Arrow ► /run BuyMerchantItem(13)
Q: I don't seem to be able to obtain the level 81-85 versions of the 'Crushing the Crown' quest! What's going on? And what about my achievement?
A: Please don't worry – we're already aware of this issue and working to get it resolved as soon as possible. You should still have plenty of time to get the achievement completed once the fix has been applied.
Filed under: Bugs, Blizzard, News items
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 4)
VioletArrows Feb 6th 2011 11:07PM
If it were ever appropriate to laugh and cry at the same time, that was it. XP
Starsmore Feb 7th 2011 1:21AM
WTB Necromancer uber-class
Yeah, guess what book series I got hooked into this weekend...
Joakim Feb 7th 2011 9:00AM
In Magnis case a pick axe able to cut through diamond would be more approriate.
But the pick axe probably demands 1200 chaos orbs.
"Hey guys, won't season quests get screwed in Cata?"
"Never mind that. People will be too busy trying to find the entrance to Stonecore."
"Oh ... "
larsi Feb 6th 2011 11:37PM
I was referring not to the lunar festival thing or the magni/cairne thing. As I said that was an oversight. It has nothing to do with "balls." Considering how much changed little things like this are bound to happen. The other things, which are actual bugs are what I was referring to. Might want to read what I said. These changes kick in with the date, the only way to test that is to change the date. Depending on how the system is setup that might not be easily, or fully, possible without massive work. And if they didn't touch that area of the code odds are they'd not have tested it.
SamLowry Feb 7th 2011 12:18AM
An "oversight"? You mean like a company deciding to change it's name but forgetting that they have to order a new sign for out front? Or maybe they should have gotten new letterhead, too? And maybe they should have told all their customers, and the Yellow Pages as well?
This has nothing to do with date--it's stupidity, pure and simple. What they did is replace one character model with another but "forgot" to replace everything connected to it. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Ronin Feb 7th 2011 12:24AM
What's that, you say? These things can't be tested on the PTR? They also can't be tested internally? There's nothing anyone can do until the real-world calendar hits February 6th, 2011?
Sorry, nothing personal, but I'm calling BS on this one. You're trying _way_ to hard to defend the indefensible, IMO.
SpankyTwo Feb 7th 2011 11:23AM
I read your comment and disreguard it. They can set up a server that can be used for time-date issues. This is utter crap. They thought to change the que level for the dungeon from 78 to 84(which is stupid it should be 83) and change the loot that is dropped from 200 to 346, but they didn't change a bunch of other shit.
themightysven Feb 7th 2011 12:27AM
It does seem to be this holiday more than the others. Last year was a little buggy (the first with the new setup) and the year before that gave us the ice stone melting (I assume due to all the love)
Ronin Feb 7th 2011 12:28AM
The other thing that boggles my mind is what a poor job Blizzard is doing to communicate about these issues. Or it _would_ boggle my mind, but it's become more or less of a pattern. Yeah, there's a Forum post-- on the European forum. Stuck in Customer Service. Where's the post for the NA Forums?
It remains for WoWInsider, WoWHead, etc. to spread the news to the playerbase, rather than Blizz to simply make a sticky post on the NA Forums. You know, the place the players should be able to go to find out this kind of information. What about the many players who don't visit these fine "fan" sites? They're just out of luck, I suppose.
Unbelievable.
SamLowry Feb 7th 2011 12:38AM
Maybe even a notice on the login screen?
Nah.
Zhiva Feb 7th 2011 12:57AM
hey, Ronin, so it bothers you when they make a post on EU forums, but don't make it on NA forums? Does it also bother you when they keep all their announcements to NA forums and leave EU in dark - as it has been all the time?
Ronin Feb 7th 2011 1:20AM
Zhiva, as I said, this is a pattern. There have been numerous times we only get this kind of info because one of the Blues on the Eu forums posts it.
If it also happens the other way around, how would I know about that? I live, play, and read in NA. But you seem to take that as a cue to be aggressive with me about it, for some unfathomable reason.
How about this: why should _either_ community not get full info on their own forum, and have to rely on third-party sites for basic posts like these?
Jason Ralph Feb 7th 2011 12:59AM
I'm missing something here. DCUO gets butchered for it's bugs/glitches, and yet here's WoW, that's so often compared to, having issues of it's own and it's been around for how long??? Too damn funny. Just saying.
SamLowry Feb 7th 2011 6:43AM
12 million fanbois can't be wrong.
zweitblom Feb 7th 2011 1:43AM
This is proof that hardly anyone in Blizzard plays the game anymore, let alone loves it. Simple as that.
SamLowry Feb 7th 2011 6:41AM
During a video showing off the redesigned SW, the leader of the graphics team stated that no one could figure out how the original SW had been designed so they just scrapped it and started from scratch, proving that most if not all of the original devs have moved on.
VioletArrows Feb 7th 2011 2:43AM
Argh, I logged on and tried to comment twice before I realized that's the EU board. XP
Crossing fingers they also do something about the fact that bracelets don't stack, and charms only stack to 40. I've already got over a hundred of the charms before I got bored with farming, I know several people in my guild with several times more. :/
walden Feb 7th 2011 6:08AM
At least you get your charms. I still hate the fact that in dungeons everyone except the healer gets these charms. The other people in my guild are done farming after the daily heroic, I (playing two 85 healers) have to respec and go slaughter mobs in the wild to get them.
SamLowry Feb 7th 2011 6:38AM
Someone posted that you have to land the killing blow to get a charm, but then folks said they swore they saw healers getting the occasional charm so this one's totally up in the air.
urendir Feb 7th 2011 3:33AM
These things are reaaaally disturbing. I played the Rift BETA this weekend and the only bug i found was that spell projectiles wouldn't show sometimes. Nothing game breaking... yet WoW has game breakers like sending you to the friggin park or to Magni (not to mention broken quests in the cata zones, after release) after it has supposedly been tested for months. Seriously?
At this point i am sad to say that i seriously consider leaving WoW.