Patch 5.4 patch notes
Virtual Realms feature revealed
The Proving Grounds are coming
The latest patch 5.4 newsThe Queue: Let us cling together
by Michael Sacco 
Mar 3rd 2012 at 12:00PM
My PS Vita has given me the opportunity to revisit (or in some cases, just regular visit) PSP games I never got around to playing, thanks to the absolute ton of PSP games available on the PlayStation Network for play on the Vita. My best find so far is Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, a remake of the same title from the days of Sega Saturn. It's a strategy RPG in the Final Fantasy Tactics vein, and with a localization by Alexander O. Smith (FFXII, among many others), you know it's got to be good. Couple that with great music, lovely art design, and a story worth caring about -- well, that's a must-buy for me, especially at $19.99.
Skarn asked:
Who ARE you sending to the MoP press event from WoW Insider anyway? How did you decide who gets to go?
WoW Insider bossman Alex Ziebart will be attending the press event. He gets to go because he's the boss, and also because there are very limited invitations. It's not quite the same as BlizzCon, where we're usually able to bring several people to work the event.
Everclear asked:
Do you think Blizzard will be looking at Transmogrification data to see what the player's tastes are in terms of the kind of gear look they enjoy? Considering Tier design reveals are always controversial, I would think checking and comparing this kind of data would be invaluable to use when taking into consideration future styles.
I'm sure Blizzard has the data, but I'm also sure that the devs are smart enough not to create new tier sets based purely on nostalgia for old sets. Basically, if people want to wear Judgement, congratulations, they can. There's no reason to design a new Judgement-alike.
Rue asked:
Why are they getting rid of spell resistance? I understand how it can be very confusing in PVP (especially with spell pen too) but why not keep it for pve only? I really liked being able to toss up Aspect of the Wild and help my healers out on massive nature aoe fights (like hagara or rotface) and it never seemed difficult in that situation. At least it isn't as confusing as expertise is looking to be
Spell resistance as a game mechanic hasn't been relevant since The Burning Crusade at the latest. The bottom line is that it just isn't fun to sacrifice your "good" stats for resistance, so resistance just doesn't exist in new gear anymore. Not only do a lot of bosses simply bypass spell resistance now, but the resistance buffs are so guaranteed that it's not even worth checking for anymore. Resistance is archaic and just doesn't work for WoW anymore, and I'm happy it's gone. It was vestigial at best.
Philster043 asked:
Do you think the Darkmoon Faire will possibly have more mounts and pets to come in Mists of Pandaria, with the possible influxion of exotic animals from the islands? Come this week, I'll probably get the last mount, and start working on pets. But I wouldn't mind seeing additional mounts at a later date to keep interest up in doing the Faire. More variety in the games/dailies on a everyday basis would be nice, too.
I'm sure the Faire will expand in Mists of Pandaria. Blizzard has already all but confirmed it. The whole place is clearly meant to be modular.
Masarah asked:
When armor is damaged due to death, how is it decided which piece gets what amount of damage? Is it just a random dice roll on each piece?
Every piece of gear takes a flat 10% durability loss when you die. No special distribution method involved. If you see some gear that has more than a 10% durability loss, it's because gear can also take durability loss from normal combat wear and tear.
Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW Insider crew is here with The Queue, our daily Q&A column. Leave your questions in the comments, and we'll do our best to answer 'em!
Filed under: The Queue
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 5)
Samuel Mar 3rd 2012 2:33PM
Social Interactions in Random Battlegrounds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWej0DHoYps
Greg Mar 3rd 2012 2:48PM
@Samuel
I concede you have a minor point there. But I believe the same exact video can (and likely has) been made about LFD and LFR groups. Some kind of orc in the background shouting "Go GO GO GO GO GO GO GO GO GO!" comes to mind.
That being said, I strongly feel that the rewards for PvP are paltry compared to the rewards for PvE.
One additional point I'd like to add is that I believe designing and implementing enjoyable PvP is less labor-intensive than doing the same thing for PvE- from a developer's standpoint.
JattTheRogue Mar 3rd 2012 7:15PM
I agree, Greg, PVP sucks for making money (even just making enough money to make sure you're gemmed and enchanted correctly). In PVE, you get a bunch of gold by running randoms, both as a reward at the end and from defeating enemies. You get gear drops to vendor or DE or sell on the AH if they're BOE. And you get currency to buy gear from the vendors. In PVP, you only get the currency. No gold, no gear to vendor or DE. You could potentially farm enough honor to buy extra gear and DE it, but that only works if you're an enchanter yourself, whereas in PVE you can roll DE on drops. If I wanted to purely PVP, I have no idea how I would afford gems and enchants. Even though there are head and shoulder enchants for sale for honor and some epic gems for sale for conquest, you still need all the other enchants and red gems, since they don't sell any pure Agility, Intellect or Strength gems.
Isilion Mar 3rd 2012 3:55PM
I'd like to point out that the amazing game "Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together" was originally released on the Super Famicom/SNES, afterwards it was rereleased on the Sega Saturn, and then of course on the PSP now.
the original TO:LUCT has been translated by fans a very very very long time after it's SNES release in Japan and is now available for SNES emulators (and before you flame, i'm just giving facts)
Necromann Mar 3rd 2012 4:15PM
Does anyone else have connection problems on Alzrazor during flight. I d/c at least once everytime. It has become a joke in my raid group as to when during the fight it will happen.
Chris Gonzalez Mar 3rd 2012 4:54PM
Sacco! You get Persona 3 Portable, and you get it NOW! Or when you have $40 to spare. Yes, I know it's expensive, but for one of the best RPGs to come from the PS2 (and the best soundtrack for nearly any game ever), it's worth it.
Sorry for the interruption; now back to your regularly scheduled questions.
Touphemia Mar 3rd 2012 6:15PM
So... did Nyorloth really get laid off? What does this mean for Ask CDev, or the story forums?
(Seconding the P3P recommendation by the way. Girl's story has the better soundtrack :3)
Paul Mar 4th 2012 4:11AM
It does look like he's been made redundant.
Hopefully his post departure comments wont be viewed too negatively, if there's a chance he can be rehired in future, I really hope that comments made from frustrated passion don't come back to haunt ANY of the more creative, decisive and useful employees who have unfortunately lost their jobs.
I also hope people stop using the term "fired" on this subject. Being "fired" implies a person was in violation of their contract or company procedures.
Drakkenfyre Mar 4th 2012 11:18AM
Did he say something on the official forums? The blue tracker isn't pulling up anything from him about it, and Googling him getting laid off brings up nothing.
Did he have something to say about it?
It sucks that he and the others got laid off, but to be put into his new position, then get removed a month or two later really sucks.
Paul Mar 4th 2012 2:28PM
Drakkenfyre, it from comments on his twitter account. There is a thread in the story forum on the official site which should direct you to it.
It's not uncommon for "last in, first out" method of handling company resources. I personally despise that system, as some lazy git that's been around for 5 years and has proven time and time again that he is in the wrong position can be saved from losing his job simply because someone else has been there for less time, and essentially "takes the bullet", but since I am not in the position to personally review every single person within Blizzard, I can't declare that what I have witnessed in the past is being practiced here, but I wouldn't be surprised, just disappointed that time wasn't taken to properly review "dead-weight" before making final decisions.
Medivhal Mar 3rd 2012 6:54PM
Do you think with the removal of resistances that Blizzard will be giving different racial buffs to compensate for the lost racial?
Paul Mar 3rd 2012 7:09PM
Either that or the races which lack a resistance racial will lose their "weakest" racial.
Some are easy to see going, like Abberation for Worgen and Hardiness for Orcs, but what would you chop from Goblins and Humans that wont end with a barrage of complaints?
JattTheRogue Mar 3rd 2012 7:16PM
I highly doubt they would take something away from other races. Taking something away that you've always had is the surest way to make frustrated customers. There are plenty of little things they could do to replace it, and they could take this opportunity to bring the other racials up to par with Goblins and Worgens.
Drakkenfyre Mar 4th 2012 11:25AM
As I said the last time this was asked, races DON'T have resistances anymore.
Look at your racials. You are going to see "2% chance for Nature spells to miss", or "2% chance for Frost spells to miss."
They were changed back during Wrath of the Lich King.
And seeing how spell misses are being highlighted for Mists of Pandaria, I would say they probably aren't going anywhere, or at the very most, being rolled into the base 30% Defense PVP stat, which sucks since it will no longer be usable in PVE.
JattTheRogue Mar 4th 2012 6:20PM
@Drakkenfrye: That is completely wrong. I don't know where you got that idea, because the racials are still resistances. My night elf has 85 nature resistance, not a 2% chance for nature spells to miss. Check Wowhead if you don't believe me:
http://www.wowhead.com/race=4
http://www.wowhead.com/spell=20583
Arrohon Mar 3rd 2012 9:30PM
Where could I find the sheet music for WoW soundtracks? Specifically Xaxas. It sounds like it'd be a great song (and potentially difficult) for a band, and I want to make sure that the music is actually available before I suggest it.
Skarn Mar 3rd 2012 9:50PM
Of course. The boss goes. Hey, he's gotta have SOME perks! :)
For some unknowable reason I assumed Blizzard would give a couple slots to each press group, but one slot each is significantly less overhead.
Thanks for the answer.
Edymnion Mar 3rd 2012 10:12PM
If you're a fan of the tactics style game, there is only one name you need to know. Disgaea.
Xorthus Mar 4th 2012 12:10AM
Q4TQ: If we have a suggestion for an article, or a particular topic I think a staff writer would be great at tackling, how do we get in contact with them? Does Wowinsider have a suggestion box that gets sent to the appropriate person?
ganrokh81 Mar 4th 2012 4:31AM
Is there a reason why only normal raid IDs are flexible, and not heroic?
I ask this because through the great website www.openraid.us, I've been doing a lot of cross-realm raiding recently. I've been able to do a lot of Tier 11 and 12 heroics. However, sometimes we'll be looking for players for X Heroic Raid with Y bosses dead, and someone with the same amount of bosses dead on Heroic won't be able to zone in because their ID is treated like a different ID, like pre-Cata.