Finding ways to make PvP enticing is not the same as forcing people into PvP. Please keep that in mind. I think there are too many people worried over something that isn't anything. We recognize that there are people who choose not to PvP. But, we also want to encourage those that may have an interest in it to be able to take part and still be competitive should they wish.

As he also said in his post that we are looking for feedback, just keep it constructive and keep in mind that the talents you see now are simply that. They are just the talents you see now. They are not final (in the "locked in place" sense). They can and will change as appropriate.

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Let's all take this conversation down a notch or two, avoid harassing or defamatory language toward each other, and avoid over-sensationalizing things. This isn't "us vs. them". World of Warcraft is a game that has a variety of play styles available to everyone that chooses to take part in them. There will always be some level of cross-over due to the fact that it would seem odd for there not to be. That said though, the development team takes great care to consider the impacts and whether it's "fun" or not.

That said, I will prune out trolling/harassing or defamatory posts if they continue. Treat each other and this conversation with respect please. There's no need for personal attacks here.

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I'm going to break this down a bit here. First off, there is hardly ever a consensus even by PvPers on what constitutes "griefing" let along "ganking". The act of PvP itself is all about killing/disabling the other person so you either win or help your team win. So "preventing" it would imply putting in specific mechanics that discourage a behavior that is naturally occurring in PvP.

As for botting, we're always working toward ways of being able to detect and negate bots. We also though, rely on players to help report these to us so they can be investigated. As I'm sure you're aware, we've taken action against bot programs in the past and what you may not be aware of is that we are regularly taking care of bots, but we don't spend time publicizing this. Bots continue to become more and more sophisticated, and we are doing what we can to find better and better ways to detect these. Again though, the report function is there for a reason. If you report, it gives us an action point to start from in looking into a behavior to see if it's truly a bot or simply a person.


This is true, that we're trying to bring them closer together. But, I think it's a bit early for you to determine that this means you will be "forced" into PvP. It's about making choices in engaging in PvE and in PvP seem less punitive and make switching quickly and easily for the situation you're in easier all around whether you engage in PvE or in PvP. What may seem like a purely PvP talent now, may actually have a use still in PvE depending on the situation as well. Again, we have plans for the future in opening up more opportunities for PvP, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you'll be forced into it.


Generalities of "this doesn't work, this looks awful, there's no utility there" aren't helpful. We need specific examples. We also acknowledge though that giving your constructive feedback isn't going to always be easy (at least while we're just showing snippets), but that feedback could still be the spark we're looking for to make a change, so don't be discouraged.

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This is not what was said at all. You're completely twisting things to apply to your thoughts and opinion. No one is getting these options at anyone else's expense and if it seems that way to you, then you're not looking at the whole picture. Though, as I said before, I can also understand how you aren't able to get the whole picture since it's not quite out there yet for you to see it all.

Also, I'm going to state this one more time. Generalizations about what you don't like about the new talent system are not helpful. Saying you don't get anything good, doesn't tell us, what in particular you dislike. Saying you don't have PvE options likewise, doesn't say what it is you think isn't something you could use in PvE.

Again, I think people are taking this discussion way too extreme. This isn't us swinging the pendulum to one side or the other. The expressions of "If you make me do this, I'm leaving" likewise aren't constructive or helpful. We value your thoughts and opinions, but it's important that if you express them, you take a deep breath first and think about what those thoughts and opinions really mean and how they can be applied toward improving things versus simply voicing a concern to air it.

Lorne says it well here:


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Much better Moonshroud. It's a start at least. Hopefully, discussions like these will become more prominent with give and take thoughts and ideas. We'll keep track of these discussions and do what we can to answer as we can. The most important part right now is that the discussion occurs.

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No one is "pushing recklessly". This is another embellishment that isn't necessary to the discussion. You will still have a working character in Mists of Pandaria. Your choices will matter more than choosing +1% to X etc. You will be able to adjust your character more quickly and easily to situations and to your preference. World of Warcraft is not becoming a "PvP centric" game, but it will continue to consider the impact of all changes on both PvE and PvP and as a part of that consideration, find the best "sweet spot" for making them more harmonious with each other so that IF you so choose to engage in one or the other, it feels rewarding.

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Just a quick additional point in regard to "bringing PvE and PvP closer"; When we say this, we're also talking about making the idea of having to collect separate gear for each less of an issue (like it became in Wrath of the Lich King). For those who are concerned about having to "grind" to get good enough PvP gear to even step into a Battleground, our intent is to make this less of an issue. We want PvE gear to be useful in PvP and vice versa, but neither should be quite as good as the other. You'll still be able to be viable either way. Meaning, if you want to go from your Raid into a Battleground for a bit, you won't necessarily need to swap gear, and if you go from PvP into a dungeon, people shouldn't get immediately incensed that you didn't change for the occasion.

While we would like to explore some options for adding more world PvP (because clearly many players keep asking for it) it would purely be optional. PvE players with no interest in PvP should be able to ignore it and vice versa. We just want to provide more opportunities for crossover (again for players who keep asking for it) than exist today.

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By your argument though, you're saying that cookie-cutter specs aren't bland. If you talk to players who have been "forced" into cookie-cutter builds, I think you'd find many of them do find this detrimental to their ability to play the game the way they want to play it. We're working to provide options that avoid the "you must" mentality as much as possible. We tried to tweak the current talent system as a part of Cataclysm, and it just wasn't where we wanted it. Yes, this is a more "drastic" approach, but the freedom it allows for making choices that matter on an individual basis have the potential to be far more fun for people to make those choices they want.

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Actually, we said that the talent system as it is today, is "fundamentally flawed".

We didn't really like having separate queues for each tier of Heroic 5-player dungeons. The random option should be all-inclusive. We also changed the Valor Point reward structure in 4.3, which kind of nullified one of the main reasons for splitting them up in the first place. Now the Random Heroic Dungeon option will choose any random Heroic, though you'll never get the Zandalari or Hour of Twilight Heroic dungeons if you're item level isn't high enough.

If you want to run the newest dungeons, you have that option. But if you want to run any random Cataclysm Heroic dungeon, we want the system to choose from all of them.

As others have stated in this thread, you're probably getting the news ones more frequently because more players are queuing for them specifically. You're being grouped with those people by the system so the wait times are as short as possible.

Be sure to tune into Spike TV's Video Game Awards tomorrow night, December 10 at 8:00 p.m. / 7:00 p.m. Central. Diablo III's full opening cinematic will make its world premiere during the show. It seems an appropriate time to share how the tone is set for our forthcoming game, as Spike has announced that they'll bestow their second-ever Gamer God Award upon Blizzard Entertainment's three founders, Mike Morhaime, Allen Adham, and Frank Pearce.

Check out Spike TV's official announcement for all the show's details and make sure your /popcorn is at the ready.