Patch 5.4 patch notes
Virtual Realms feature revealed
The Proving Grounds are coming
The latest patch 5.4 newsBreakfast Topic: Patch 4.2 is upon us
by Mathew McCurley 
Jun 28th 2011 at 8:00AM
Patch 4.2 brings with it many new features. Players will be able to enter the Firelands, Ragnaros' domain, for a whole slew of new daily quests and player-specific progression. Seven new raid bosses await intrepid raiders, valor point gear will be knocked down to justice level, and the previous tier of content is becoming more accessible to raiders new and old. Loads of new companion pets and mounts await players willing to aid the Avengers of Hyjal's cause. Lucky raiders will also take part in an epic quest to forge the newest legendary item in WoW, Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa's Rest.
I am especially interested and excited for the Molten Front and Regrowth daily hubs that are being introduced for max-level players in Hyjal, as the druids and sentinels break into Ragnaros' home turf, the Firelands, and lay siege for their survival. These dailies and daily hubs represent a philosophy that I love in MMOs -- your personal progression should matter just as much as the progression of the whole. You, individually, will be working with major lore characters and factions to put together the Hyjal offensive, and your decisions get to open up new quest areas and gear vendors in an order that you choose. Putting this type of control back in the players' hands feels like a Burning Crusade move, and I'm a man who loved him some Burning Crusade.
What are you looking forward to when we get to log into patch 4.2? What's your first move in the face of invasion from the Firelands?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 6)
Paulduchesne1337 Jun 28th 2011 9:47AM
When i log in ill have 151 pets :D
Wilk Jun 28th 2011 10:19AM
You should note that the requirements to start the Dragonwrath chain have changed (again) and now you can start the chain if you have killed every boss in Blackwing Descent OR Bastion of Twilight OR Throne of the Four Winds OR killed a Molten Lord.
Cheb Jun 28th 2011 10:26AM
@Wilk
Again? Good god, make up your mind Blizz! Well, on the plus side, our casters should all be able to start the quest without having to do Firelands tonight, should we be conquered by the portal boss. Good to know, ty ty.
Bynde Jun 28th 2011 9:03AM
I couldn't care less about the raids. But, I am anxious to see what the Dungeon Journal is like.
Samutz Jun 28th 2011 8:38AM
"Rebuke, Divine Shield and Divine Protection have new icons." Oh hell yes!
"The Reins of the Dark Phoenix, purchased from the Guild Vendor, has had its art improved. It's now less transparent and indisputably more awesome." Great even more reason for raiders to sit on top of mailboxes and sign posts, showing off their mount. I really don't give a shit about your mount. I just want my mail.
I'm a little disappointed that the rumored 64-bit client didn't make it.
loop_not_defined Jun 28th 2011 10:32AM
There was, like, one line of code referencing 64-bit that got added into the PTR within the last month or so. Expecting full-blown 64-bit mode by 4.2 is shooting pretty damn high.
Samutz Jun 28th 2011 10:36AM
Just because it wasn't on PTR doesn't mean it couldn't have been in 4.2. Blizzard could have slipped it in at the last minute, and it wouldn't be the first time they've added stuff last minute.
ubergrendle Jun 28th 2011 8:56AM
I am both looking forward to, and worried about, patch 4.2. I hope that it can reinvigorate my interest in WoW for what has, so far, been a lackluster expansion. I resubbed 2 weeks ago after a 4 month break so that i'd be 'ready' for 4.2, and honestly I was *shocked* that I had missed practically nothing in my absence. 4 months off had been my longest WoW break since i started late Vanilla.
My first night back, in heroic 346 gear I entered both 4.1 troll instances and cleared both, got lucky with some drops... bought a peice of t11 gear with valor points I had. And that was it. Tol Barad was the same, heroics were slightly improved (less trash, especially deadmines), and i do like the 'target shows up on yoru mini map' UI improvement. Aside from raiding progression, nothing new really happened the last 4-6 months.You can honestly hit 85, and in 5-7 days be geared to raid.
For many of us I suspect, 4.2 -- or at the very most whatever is announced (and delivered) for 4.3 -- is a make-or-break patch. I'm hoping for the excitment and urgency of Quel'Danas and the opening of Sunwell. Nerfs and easy epic gear will mean ROFLstomps of BWD and BoT, and hopefully the new 6 bosses are entertaining enough to last into the fall. A new zone is definitely needed for end game. And at least people will go back to running heroics again, to get valor points for the new tier gear.
eel5pe Jun 28th 2011 11:17AM
I'm torn. Reading up on the boss strats make the new (seven by the way, 8 if you count the TB loot pinata) fights seem really exciting, with lots of different mechanics (or at least, different ways of not standing in things). The fights seem really dynamic, emphasize personal responsibility, and use a lot of strategies we haven't really seen before. Nothing too horribly complex, just unique.
At the same time only 7 bosses... Blizzard can spin it any way they want (comparing it to the well-received Sunwell, saying 7 is the optimal raid size, claiming that this allows them to focus their art resources rather than re-using models... whatever) but seven is seven. My math sucks, but seven is a lot less than thirteen (4.0), twelve (3.3), thirteen (3.1) and thirteen (3.0)*
*I am 100% sure i will miss a count or a patch number somewhere in there. And 3.2 was an abomination for raiding, let us not speak of it.
Koleckai Jun 28th 2011 9:25AM
Well the first thing that I'll do if patch 4.3 is today is -
1) Cut some gems and list them in the Auction House. I didn't stockpile 2,000 gems for nothing.
2) Buy some pants.
3) Run my warrior alt through the ZG troll quests in Stranglethorn Vale. She has enough points to buy a piece of gear as well.
4) If the servers are stable, I might run through some of the new quest chains in Mt. Hyjal this evening.
Koleckai Jun 28th 2011 9:25AM
Meant... Patch 4.2... Fumble fingers.
Z4focus Jun 28th 2011 9:25AM
I was there just last night. Have a 70 that is staying 70. Nothing has changed!
crsh Jun 28th 2011 9:30AM
Hopefully Blizzard has sorted out some of the embarrassing quirks we've come to see far too many times when it comes to deploying a content patch.
HappyTreeDance Jun 28th 2011 9:52AM
Tell you what I'm not excited to do, and that's run the Zuls over and over again. I didn't really need any upgrades or valor points on my main when 4.1 was released, so I didn't have much of a reason to run the Zuls. I'm glad about this, because I generally don't enjoy them, and ZG in particular gives me a migraine whenever I'm in there. I kind of hate that I'll be penalized if I choose to just run the regular heroics. You know, the ones actually designed for the expansion we're playing? I don't mind having to run more of them to get the same number of points, but since I'm a healer on my raid team, it's my responsibility to be as geared as possible, which means running the troll dungeons. I really can't explain how much this is going to make it hard for me to want to log on.
Other than that doom and gloom though, I'm really looking forward to the new dailies, and being able to finish gearing my pally alt in the t11 stuff. I'm very much looking forward to getting the hippogryph on my pally as well. And I'm excited to get into Firelands. I'm tired of looking at BWD, and am very eager for some new raid content.
Jolly Jun 28th 2011 10:39AM
Why is it only the healer's responsibility to be as geared as possible?
HappyTreeDance Jun 28th 2011 10:50AM
I didn't say it was only my responsibility. I'm saying that I feel it's only fair to my raid team that I do everything I can to make sure I'm geared enough to keep up with the damage in the new raid.
OfNoReturn Jun 28th 2011 11:21AM
At least everyone will need to run them and it should be easy to find a guild group or a partial guild group. Personally I think it's easiest to run them in a group of 2 so you retain the 15% random group buff which can often make up for low DPS or an undergeared Tank.
I do wish Blizzard would make all of the Heroics give the same Valor Points earned. Even if you enjoy the Zuls, I don't think anyone enjoys running the same 2 dungeons repeatedly for weeks.
Jaq Jun 28th 2011 9:52AM
Still waiting for a download. Shouldn't it be started by now?
nosoup4u76 Jun 28th 2011 9:55AM
Well, first things are first... Buy a couple pieces of T11 with JP for my pally and mage and then it's off to start grinding through the new dailies so I can unlock those fabulous Blacksmithing plans so I can take advantage of the huge stockpile of elementium, truegold, and chaos orbs I have lying about. Who knows, might even make some money selling some of the BOE's to folks for ridiculous prices.
Mantrhax Jun 28th 2011 9:55AM
Oh yeah. nerfing a pve server warrior based on pvp server problems isnt the smart decision blizzard put on, probably the son of one of the developers was chilling about how he got killed by a warrior. Nerfing a warrior is like killing a dead person.