Posts with tag cataclysm-news

Are rogues a dying class?

by Matthew Rossi Dec 11th 2012 at 7:00PM

Warcraft population data indicates Rogue decline

If you remember, last year Cynwise launched on a study of Warcraft's class popularity that led to his producing a book, The Decline and Fall of Warlocks in Cataclysm. We talked about some of the conclusions he drew here. Now he's back looking at class population vs. popularity in Mists of Pandaria, and some of the numbers he's compiled from Worldofwargraphs and realmpop are extremely interesting. One of the most shocking pieces of information to come out of all of this is this stark graphic above, where you can see the rogue population plummet.

Rogues went from 7.67% of max level at patch 5.0.4, the pre-Mists of Pandaria patch, to 5.51% of max level as of patch 5.1, a drop of over 2%. This is at a time when most other classes either held steady (Paladins, Druids, DK's and Hunters all held at about even with their Cataclysm and patch 5.0.4 numbers), went up (Warriors saw a jump from 9.25% at max level to 10.14% between 5.0.4 and 5.1, while Warlocks went up from 6.7% to 7%) or saw slight declines (Shamans, Priests and Mages all saw slight declines). By comparison, the rogue decline becomes stark.

So, where have all the rogues gone? Monks have taken a slim 4.9% of the total playerbase, which means that they're hardly the dominant juggernauts that Death Knights became in Wrath of the Lich King, so can they explain the rogue decline?

Filed under: Rogue, Analysis / Opinion, PvP, Raiding, Cataclysm, Mists of Pandaria

Patch 4.0.6 hotfixes for Feb. 25

by Dawn Moore Feb 26th 2011 at 1:30AM

A new round of hotfixes to patch 4.0.6 were just released over at the official WoW blog. The changes are primarily fixes or nerfs to the heroic Valiona and Theralion encounter in the Bastion of Twilight. A few of the nerfs appear to balance the fight for the heroic 10-man version, while others are all-around nerfs to the damage in the fight.

Another change fixes the ressurrection of players in the Twin Peaks and Battle for Gilneas battlegrounds.

Patch 4.0.6 Hotfixes - February 25

Dungeons & Raids

Bastion of Twilight

Blackout will no longer hit players sent down to the Twilight Zone by either Valiona or Theralion.
Collapsing Twilight Portal should no longer close faster when a person uses it while on Heroic difficulty. It now has a set duration.
Devouring flame maximum damage has been reduced.
Theralion's damage should now be more consistent with Valiona's on 10-player Heroic difficulty.
Twilight Blast damage has been reduced on 10-player Heroic difficulty.
Twilight Protection now lasts 6 seconds, up from 3.
Players should now always receive the Twilight Protection buff when entering the Twilight Realm.
Twilight Sentries have slightly lower health on 10-player Heroic difficulty. Twilight Zone damage has been lowered slightly.
Unstable Twilight's search effect has been lowered to a 1-yard radius, down from 2.

PvP

Players in Battle for Gilneas and Twin Peaks who are Neutral with the associated factions should no longer experience issues resurrecting at the appropriate graveyards.

source

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has destroyed Azeroth as we know it; nothing is the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from leveling up a new goblin or worgen to breaking news and strategies on endgame play.

Filed under: News items, Cataclysm

Patch 4.0.6 hotfixes for Feb. 22

by Anne Stickney Feb 23rd 2011 at 4:15AM

We've got a pretty short list of hotfixes for Patch 4.0.6 this morning, courtesy of Community Manager Zarhym. Included are the hunter changes that have been mentioned several times over -- and for the raiders out there, a small adjustment to Throne of the Four Winds:

Zarhym

Classes
- Hunters
  - Aimed Shot damage has been decreased to approximately 160% weapon damage (at level 80+), down from 200%.
  - Aspect of the Hawk now provides 2000 attack power at level 85.
Dungeons & Raids
- Throne of the Four Winds
  - The Catch Fall aura is now removed whenever a player leaves the dungeon.

source

Filed under: News items, Cataclysm

Patch 4.0.6 hotfixes for Feb. 19

by Anne Stickney Feb 20th 2011 at 4:26AM

Since the release of Patch 4.0.6, we've had a pretty steady stream of hotfix announcements, each one providing fairly substantial lists of changes over the past several weeks. Today, we've got what is less of a hotfix and more of a little note, courtesy of Community Manager Zarhym:

Zarhym

Classes

Hunters
- The changes to Aimed Shot and Aspect of the Hawk announced yesterday have not yet been applied to live realms and should not go into effect until after the holiday weekend.

source

The changes referred to are the two hunter hotfixes from yesterday's list. Aimed Shot damage for hunters will be decreased to approximately 160% weapon damage at level 80+, down from 200%, and Aspect of the Hawk will provide an additional 2,000 attack power for hunters at level 85. These changes will presumably go live after Tuesday's maintenance.

Filed under: News items, Cataclysm

The Queue: Ragequitter redux

by Michael Sacco Feb 19th 2011 at 12:00PM

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Mike Sacco will be your host today.

Yesterday I gave you some advice on how not to get a rematch in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Today, I say to you that I have found the method so effective, so potent, that some players opt to physically turn their system off or unplug their ethernet cable in order to avoid the shame of loss to a dog that barks ice cubes.

Saekeion asked:

Does the reputation discount with a faction also apply to when you sell items? Do you get more money if you have a higher reputation with that faction? If so, does Goblin's Best Deals Anywhere apply to the amount of money you get for selling an item?
Good question, but no, sell prices for items aren't affected by any outside modifiers, including rep. They will always sell for the same amount.

Filed under: The Queue

Patch 4.0.6 hotfixes for Feb. 18

by Anne Stickney Feb 19th 2011 at 3:16AM

Blizzard's serving up some weekend hotfixes, included the promised dungeon finder changes from earlier this week. Community Manager Zarhym posted the updated list earlier, and along with the dungeon finder tweaks, we've also got a fairly good list of class changes. Keep in mind, while the dungeon finder changes have been implemented, they will take a realm restart in order to take effect. Some highlights:

For hunters, Aspect of the Hawk now provides around an additional 2,000 attack power at level 85.
For paladins, Light of Dawn no longer heals targets outside the paladin's party or raid. It correctly heals up to five targets in the paladin's raid.
For warlocks, instant-cast Shadowbolts from Shadow Trance (both the talent and Glyph of Corruption versions) should no longer consume charges of Backdraft if both procs are available.

Filed under: News items, Cataclysm

Gallywix: Trade Secrets of a Trade Prince live at Blizzard's community site

by Anne Stickney Feb 18th 2011 at 6:00PM

Trade Prince Gallywix represents the worst of the goblin race. Irrepressibly greedy and always scheming, the conniving racial leader of the Bilgewater Cartel is a sore spot for most goblins out there. This could have something to do with the bit where he tried to sell everyone into slavery when the island of Kezan was destroyed. But hey, when the opportunity arises to make a buck, Gallywix is there to take advantage of it.

Live on Blizzard's community site, Gavin Jurgen's Gallywix: Trade Secrets of a Trade Prince is the story of just how Gallywix rose to power, containing a few tips to aspiring Trade Princes out there. Did we say a few? Yeah, right -- as if a Trade Prince is going to give away his secrets that easily.

Gallywix is the third installment of the Leaders of the Horde and Alliance series. Unlike the prior two entries, Gallywix offers a more humorous look at what it takes to become a leader -- and a grim glimpse into the seedy underbelly of Kezan. From the slums to the heights of his own Pleasure Palace, Gallywix's rise to power is something that's often bickered about by those that play Horde who feel that Gallywix's time ought to be coming to an end. Judging from this story, that's only going to happen over Gallywix's dead body -- and the bodies of those he takes down with him.

Check out the whole story on Blizzard's community site (and while you're there, you can take a peek at the other stories currently available).

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, News items, Lore

The Queue: Sacco vs. Ragequitters 3

by Michael Sacco Feb 18th 2011 at 11:00AM

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Mike Sacco will be your host today.

If anyone's wondering, I've developed a surefire way to make sure no one ever gives you a Marvel vs. Capcom 3 rematch online. Three easy steps:

Select Amaterasu as a team member.
Switch to your Rosary weapon (D, D, H).
Spam Cold Star (QCF+L) forever.

Concepts like "super jumping" or "calling an assist" or "advancing block" somehow become meaningless for the average opponent upon being machine-gunned by a dog for an entire match. They will know only rage. You will not get a second game.

Anne asked:

Maybe this has already been covered, but why does all the high-level blue crafted gear have PvP stats? It's an upgrade in every other way for my PvE self, but I really resent losing, say, haste to gain resilience that I will never use and can't reforge. I understand some with PvP stats. But, really...ALL of it???

Because while you can get PvE gear from quests, dungeons, factions, and crafting, you can only get PvP gear from PvPing. The crafted gear helps make sure that you're not stuck in a catch-22 situation where you need to PvP to get resilience gear but can't really PvP without resilience gear.

Filed under: The Queue

The anachronistic illogic of battlegrounds

by Matthew Rossi Feb 17th 2011 at 6:00PM

Is there a logic to Azeroth's battlegrounds? I understand that places like Arathi Basin, the Battle for Gilneas, or Twin Peaks have victory conditions that may or may not really have all that much to do with how real wars are waged -- much less Warsong Gulch or Eye of the Storm. (I mean, if you want to contemplate how grabbing a flag and taking it somewhere equates to an epic military triumph, go ahead.) But I'm not specifically talking about the rules of the individual battlegrounds, mind you.

Why has there never been a battleground that has been about killing the other side? Just wanton, brutal mass combat between opposing forces? (The answer is probably because it would be terrible.) But when you start to think about what the fighting is even about, it gets even weirder. Yes, that post is really a clever jab at LoS and how it often doesn't work like you'd expect it to (and that's worth considering as well), but really think about some of the battlegrounds we're going to right now in a post-Cataclysm world.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, PvP, Cataclysm

Raid composition and the role gap

by Matthew Rossi Feb 17th 2011 at 4:00PM

I was once in a raid that had two ranged DPSers or ranged DPS/healer-capable players for every melee/tank-capable player. We often had to field raids with three melee DPSers, four tanks, five healers and 13 ranged DPSers. I look back on these days (this was a year ago) with a kind of whimsical despair, longing for their return, as I am now constantly trying to field a 10-man raid with six melee DPSers. Sometimes we have a hunter! I often step out of raids on purpose just to get that hunter in, because the idea of trying to field a six-melee raid force makes me age preternaturally.

Filed under: Druid, Hunter, Paladin, Analysis / Opinion, Raiding, BlizzCon, Cataclysm

Patch 4.0.6 hotfixes for Feb. 16

by Anne Stickney Feb 17th 2011 at 12:40AM

Along with a list of hotfixes for the dungeon finder tool and vote kick system, Community Manager Zarhym released an update of hotfixes to other portions of the 4.0.6 patch. While some of these hotfixes go live the moment they're implemented, others will take a realm restart to go into effect. Today's list is just a small handful of class changes, plus one change to Blackwing Descent:

Zarhym

Classes
- Druid
  - It is no longer possible for Skull Bash (Bear) to hit two targets at a time. A macro was previously circumventing the intended functionality of this ability.
- Shaman
  - Purification (Restoration passive) now grants a 25% bonus to healing effects, up from 10%. More information can be found here.
- Priests
  - In addition to its current effects, the Body and Soul talent now grants 12.5%/25% reduction to the base mana cost of Power Word: Shield. This is not reflected in the tooltip, but is reflected in the amount of mana used when Power Word: Shield is cast by Holy priests who have this talent. The tooltip update will require a client-side patch.
  - Power Word: Shield now costs roughly 34% of base mana, up from 25%. This is not reflected in the tooltip, but is reflected in the amount of mana used when the spell is cast. The tooltip update will require a client-side patch.
  - More information on these changes can be found here.
Dungeons & Raids
- Blackwing Descent
  - Maloriak will no longer cast Flash Freeze on anyone who is tanking Aberrations or anyone who has recently been hit by them.

source

Filed under: News items, Cataclysm

Patch 4.0.6 hotfixes for Feb. 15

by Alex Ziebart Feb 15th 2011 at 9:20PM

Another round of hotfixes has been announced this evening. Tonight brings us a few hotfixes to raid content, including every engineer's friend, the Cardboard Assassin. Sorry, my cardboard friend. Your days of tanking Cho'gall are over.

Hotfixes for Feb. 15

General

The amount of guild reputation and guild experience gained from killing a raid boss has been dramatically increased, as the previous rate felt too low compared to the difficulty of progressing through raid content. This change will require a realm restart to take effect, which will be next Tuesday's weekly scheduled maintenance at the latest.
Shield of Velen guards in The Exodar are now consistent with other "royal" city guards in terms of health, level, and damage.

Classes

Mages
- Arcane Blast now costs 5% of base mana before stacking modifiers, down from 7%.

Dungeons & Raids

Baradin Hold
- Argaloth despawns and resets properly if the raid wipes during Fel Firestorm.
Blackwing Descent
- While flying around the Vault of the Shadowflame, Nefarian no longer forces everyone to stand up if engaged.
Throne of the Tides
- It should no longer be possible to summon a mount in certain areas of this dungeon.

Items

Shard of Woe (Heroic trinket) now reduces the base mana cost of spells by 205, with the exception of Holy and Nature spells -- the base mana cost of Holy and Nature spells remains reduced by 405 with this trinket.

Professions

Engineering Target Dummies are no longer able to taunt boss-level creatures.

source

Filed under: News items

Cataclysm hotfixes for Feb. 14

by Mathew McCurley Feb 14th 2011 at 11:18PM

Blizzard has released the newest hotfixes, already on servers now. Hope you all took advantage of Whiptail-a-palooza while you had the chance. Here are your hotfixes for Feb. 14, 2011:

General

Players who are exalted with 40 factions are again awarded The Exalted title. Note that the associated achievement does not state that this title will be awarded when it's earned. This will be corrected in a future patch. More information can be found here.

Classes

Druids
- Starfall will now hit any target in range which is in combat or not at full health (including the Exposed Head of Magmaw, which was causing issues with Starfall).
Paladins
- The hotfix to Beacon of Light and Light of Dawn on February 11 did not produce the intended results and has been reverted. Light of Dawn should still trigger Beacon of Light.

Dungeons & Raids

Blackwing Descent
- The Atramedes achievement Silence is Golden was incorrectly failing when any raid member's sound bar went over 30%. The achievement now requires no one's sound bar to go over 50% as advertised.

Professions

Alchemy
- The Mysterious Potion was restoring the wrong amount of mana. It now restores 1 to 15,000 mana, instead of 1 to 30,000.
Fishing
- The Bone and Jeweled Fishing Pole quest rewards are now item level 15, down from 200.
Herbalism
- Whiptail was spawning too quickly in Uldum after patch 4.0.6. The spawn time has been reduced.

source

Filed under: Cataclysm

The Queue: Even though I am better than you, I am not

by Michael Sacco Feb 13th 2011 at 12:00PM

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Mike Sacco will be your host today.

Video mildly NSFW. I learned something yesterday, and that's that the number of people who will jump to correct a "grammar mistake" is larger than the number of people who will recognize and enjoy a combination JFK reference/play on words. I thought we had moved beyond just using pictures of our pets for Queue intros! My heart is broken.

Aarkan asked:

Why does my worgen bear have leg spikes?

Because the GWAR logo is trademarked.

Filed under: The Queue

The Queue: Voynich bin ein Berliner

by Michael Sacco Feb 12th 2011 at 12:00PM

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Mike Sacco will be your host today.

The Voynich Manuscript is one of my favorite unsolved mysteries of the literary world: a manuscript no one can date in a language no one can decipher about no one knows what. It's a bunch of flowers and women showering. I think it's the equivalent of someone a thousand years from now digging up a D&D Monster Manual: "What does it mean?"

If you want to check out the manuscript yourself, head to Yale's online library and type in "Voynich." It's the first result.

Jyetie asked:

My dad asked my why my character was purple and glowy the other day, so ... Is there any lore-icle reason for Shadowform for priests? Other than looking cool?
All priests use aspects of the Forgotten Shadow, sort of the other side of the Light, in practice, but shadow priests are way into it. Priests who are completely at one with the Shadow can (some say) ascend to god-like status, achieving ultimate power and immortality. Shadowform is essentially your character's getting as close to ascension as he can. Commenter "Furry" puts it well: "It's a physical show of how your soul is going to a darker place."

Filed under: The Queue

WoW Insider Show

Subscribe via iTunes for our latest show.

Hot Topics

Upcoming Events

Event	Date
Love Is In the Air	2/2 - 2/15
Blackrock Foundry Normal and Heroic open	2/3
Darkmoon Faire	2/8 - 2/15
Blackrock Foundry Mythic opens	2/10
Lunar Festival	2/16 - 3/2
Blackrock Foundry LFR wing 1 opens	2/17
Blackrock Foundry LFR wing 2 opens	2/24
Darkmoon Faire	3/1 - 3/8
Blackrock Foundry LFR wing 3 opens	3/10
Blackrock Foundry LFR wing 4 opens	3/24