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World of Warcraft PTR Patch 5.2

   General
   
      New Daily Quest Hub: The Isle of the Thunder King.
      
         Here players can join the assault to conquer Emperor Lei Shen's island stronghold, unlock new questlines and daily quest hubs, participate in special events, earn the right to visit the fabled Treasure Room, lay claim an arsenal of powerful Mogu artifacts for their faction, and more.
         Each faction's finest are spearheading the assault: the Kirin-Tor Offensive led by Jaina Proudmoore and the Sunreaver Onslaught led by Lor'themar Theron. Earning reputation with these new factions offers heroes the opportunity to receive new quests and reputation rewards, including powerful items and an intimidating new mount.
         After both the Alliance and the Horde have eked out a foothold on the isle, players can choose to perform quests that are PvE or PvP focused. PvP quests will direct players against opposing faction NPCs, but slaying opposing players will grant credit as well.
         As the heroes conquer the Isle, they will unlock the powerful Lightning Forge, which will allow Blacksmiths to forge mighty raid-worthy items, as well as classic weapons from the past.
         Players on the PTR can teleport to the Isle of the Thunder King at their faction shrines in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. While the Isle of the Thunder King will be unlocked progressively by each realm based on participation in the war effort, initially only some of the Isle’s features will be unlocked. Future updates will include the Shipyard and the Main Courtyard. Some features, including the Treasure Room, will not yet be available.
      
      
      New Raid: Throne of Thunder
      
         Emperor Lei Shen, the Thunder King, has returned to wreak his vengeance on Pandaria. It falls to the heroes of the Alliance and the Horde to stop the newly resurrected tyrant and his Zandalari allies in the massive new raid: Throne of Thunder.
         Throne of Thunder is a sprawling citadel housing 12 new raid encounters, and players that defeat Emperor Lei Shen in Heroic mode can earn the opportunity to face an additional 13th foe.
         The Raid Finder version of the Throne of Thunder will be divided into 4 different wings.
         Join the Shado-Pan Assault in their singular drive to see Lei Shen, The Thunder King defeated once and for all, and gain access to impressive Valor reward items. Reputation with this faction can be earned only within the Throne of Thunder raid dungeon.
         Please note: During the 5.2 PTR, this raid dungeon will only be available during a limited testing window. Keep an eye on our PTR Discussion Forum for details.
      
      
      The Legendary Quest Continues:
      
         Wrathion must know the origin and source of Mogu power, and Azeroth's mightiest heroes will aid the Black Prince in finding out what it is. The search for information will take players into the depths of the Thunder King's Palace, and pit them against trials of perseverence and skill. Along the way, they'll unlock the secrets to a new headgear enchantment, the Crown of the Heavens.
         Please note: Initially this quest is not available on the PTR, but will be coming soon.
      
      
      New World Bosses: Nalak, the Storm Lord and Oondasta
      
         Nalak, the Storm Lord
         
            After the Isle of the Thunder King has been conquered, the gate guardian of the Thunder King's citadel will appear: Nalak, the Storm Lord. Players will frequently have the opportunity to test their mettle against him.
         
         
         Oondasta
         
            Found in a place that has been lost in time, the great devilsaur lord Oondasta has been outfitted for battle with weaponry and armor by the Zandalari, and awaits players brave enough (or foolhardy enough) to seek him out on the mysterious Isle of Giants found in the seas north of Kun-Lai Summit.
         
         
      
      
      Buy The Farm
      
         Players that have grown attached to working the land at Sunsong Ranch can now purchase the land from Farmer Yoon. Once the farm is owned by a player, it becomes a rest point like an Inn, where the player can bind and instantly log out. Work orders will pour in to the farm from factions across Pandaria, and completing a work orders will earn a reputation boost with the issuing faction.
         Please note: The new Sunsong Ranch features are not available on the PTR, but will be coming soon.
      
      
      New World Boss System
      
         All world bosses are now Tap to Faction. This new system offers every eligible player of the same faction that engages a boss the chance to earn loot. Under the new system, players will only be able to earn loot from each world boss once per week, but bonus rolls apply. Bosses will now respawn more frequently as well.

         
      
      
   
   
   Classes
   
      Death Knight
      
         Death Siphon now heals for 150% of the damage dealt (was 100%).
         Conversion now costs 5 Runic Power plus 5 per second thereafter (was 10 Runic Power plus 10 per second).
         The Bloodworms summoned by Blood Parasite now have 200% more health.
         Unholy
         
            Reaping now also applies to Icy Touch.
            Summon Gargoyle no longer costs Runic Power.
            Gargoyle Strike now deals Shadow and Nature damage (was Nature only).
            Ebon Plaguebringer now causes Plague Strike to inflict Frost Fever, in addition to its other effects.
         
         
      
      
      Druid
      
         Cyclone now has a 30 second cooldown for Feral Druids. In addition, it will now share diminishing returns with Banish, Seduction, Bind Elemental, Hex, Freezing Trap, Wyvern Sting, Gouge, Sap, Hibernate, Paralysis, Polymorph, Ring of Frost, Repentance, and Quaking Palm.
         Symbiosis
         
            Shattering Blow now has a 1.5 second cast time to align correctly with the Warrior version of this ability.
         
         
         Displacer Beast has been redesigned. It now triggers Cat Form and grants 50% increased movement speed for 4 seconds after teleporting, and no longer activates Prowl.
         Cenarion Ward now grants 100% increased healing.
         Frenzied Regeneration now scales 10% more efficiently with attack power.
         Tooth and Claw now scales 10% more efficiently with attack power.
         Mastery: Nature's Guardian now provides 20% more armor per Mastery rating.
         Rejuvenation now costs approximately 9% less mana.
         Revive and Mark of the Wild now cost 55% less mana.
         Faerie Swarm can now snare more than one target at a time.
         Mass Entanglement now has a 30 second cooldown (was 2 minutes).
         Typhoon now has a 30 second cooldown (was 20 seconds).
         The Treants summoned by Force of Nature now deal more damage and healing, and the Force of Nature tooltip will report the capabilities of these summoned pets.
         Soul of the Forest
         
            Balance: Now generates 40 Lunar or Solar energy upon leaving Eclipse.
            Feral: Unchanged.
            Guardian: Generates 3 additional Rage per Mangle.
            Restoration: Now grants 70% Haste on the next spell cast after the Druid casts Swiftmend.
         
         
         Nature's Vigil now has a 90 second cooldown (was 3 minutes), and now increases damage and healing done by 10% (was 20%).
      
      
      Hunter
      
         Bestial Wrath may now be activated when there is no line of sight to the Hunter's pet.
         Silencing Shot now has a 24 second cooldown (was 20).
         Binding Shot no longer has a Focus cost.
         Wyvern Sting no longer has a Focus cost, and its cooldown is now 45 seconds (was 60 seconds).
         Glyph of Marked for Death has been removed, and its effects are now baseline.
         New Glyph: Glyph of Liberation. This glyph now causes Disengage to heal the Hunter for 5% of maximum health when used.
      
      
      Mage
      
         Invocation now removes Evocation's cooldown and reduces its channeling time and duration by 50%. A completed Evocation now grants 15% increased damage (was 25%) for 1 minute (was 40 seconds) after an Evocation is completed. Passive mana regeneration is reduced by 50% only while Invoker's Energy is active.
         Greater invisibility now has a 90 second cooldown (was 2.5 minutes).
         Frostbolt cast by Mirror Images now deals 50% more damage.
         Improved Counterspell has been removed.
         Glyph of Fire Blast has been replaced with Glyph of Inferno Blast. Glyph of Inferno Blast causes damage over time effects spread by Inferno Blast to spread to 1 additional target.
         Blazing Speed can now be triggered at will.
         Cold Snap now heals the Mage for 15% of maximum health when used (was 30%).
         Ice Floes now has a 45 second cooldown (was 1 minute).
         Scorch now costs 3.5% of base mana (was 0.1%).
         Arcane
         
            Arcane Blast's mana cost has been increased to 1.66667% of base mana (was 1.5%).
         
         
         Frost
         
            Frostbolt now deals 24% more damage, but its debuff no longer increases subsequent Frostbolt damage.
            Water Elemental
            
               Freeze no longer does damage, and only provides Fingers of Frost on a successful freeze.
            
            
         
         
      
      
      Monk
      
         New Level 60 Talent: Ring of Peace
         
            Ring of Peace forms a 8 yard sanctuary around the target for 8 seconds, causing all enemies in the area of effect to be silenced and disarmed.
         
         
         New Windwalker and Brewmaster ability added at level 30: Nimble Brew. Nimble Brew removes all stun, fear, and root effects, and reduces the duration of those effects if they are re-applied by 60% for 6 seconds. It has a 2 minute cooldown.
         Chi Wave now does 100% more damage and healing, and no longer costs Chi, but now has a 15 second cooldown.
         Zen Sphere now has a limit of 2 (was 1), now detonates when either the recipient reaches 35% health or the Zen Sphere is dispelled, and no longer costs Chi.
         Chi Burst now does 100% more damage and healing, no longer costs Chi, and now has a 30 second cooldown.
         Path of Blossoms has been removed.
         Deadly Reach has been removed.
         Paralysis is now a physical, non-magical effect, and can no longer be dispelled, grounded or reflected, and its base range has been increased to 20 yards.
         Tiger's Lust and Touch of Karma no longer have a Chi cost.
         Tiger's Lust can no longer be used on targets that have other temporary speed increases active.
         Charging Ox Wave now has a 30 second cooldown (was 60 seconds).
         Dampen Harm can now be used while stunned, and its cooldown will now begin when used, not when the effect ends.
         Healing Elixirs now heals the Monk for 15% of maximum health (was 10%).
         Chi Torpedo now deals 15% more damage.
         Healing Spheres now have a duration of 1 minute. Healing Spheres generated by Mastery: Gift of the Serpent now have a duration of 30 seconds.
         Mistweaver
         
            Life Cocoon can no longer be dispelled.
            Zen Focus, the 4-piece Mistweave set bonus, is now more responsive.
            It is no longer possible to use Thunder Focus Tea while silenced.
            Healing Spheres will now heal for 50% of their original value if they expire without being picked up. This healing will factor in relevant Mastery.
            Xuen will now fixate on the Monk's original target.
         
         
         Windwalker
         
            New Level 75 Ability: Storm, Earth and Fire
            
               The Windwalker can summon up to two elemental duplicates that mirror damaging abilities that the Monk uses while they are active. For each spirit summoned, the Monk's damage is reduced: 1 spirit causes the Monk and the spirit to deal 60% of the Monk's normal damage, while 2 spirits will cause the Monk and both active spirits to deal 40% of the Monk's normal damage. Each spirit lasts until the ability is canceled, or that spirit's target dies or otherwise becomes unavailable.
            
            
            Combo Breaker is now a passive ability granted at level 15 that grants a 12% chance to make the Monk's next Blackout Kick or Tiger Palm cost no Chi.
            New Mastery: Bottled Fury -- Increases the damage bonus provided by Tigereye Brew by .2% per Mastery per stack.
            Tigereye Brew now increases damage by 1% per stack (was 2%), but is now improved by Bottled Fury.
            Tigereye Brew now gains 1 charge after spending 2 Chi (was 4 Chi).
            Tigereye Brew will now stack to 20, but only 10 charges can be consumed per activation.
            A user interface alert now displays upon reaching 10 stacks of Tigereye Brew.
         
         
         Brewmaster
         
            Mastery: Elusive Brawler now provides 25% more Stagger per Mastery rating.
         
         
      
      
      Paladin
      
         Hand of Purity now reduces all incoming damage by 10% in addition to its other effects.
         Eternal Flame's periodic heal now provides 100% more healing when self-cast.
         Judgment now costs 5% of base mana.
         Protection
         
            The base damage of Consecration has been increased by 789%, and it now scales less efficiently with attack power by approximately 11%.
         
         
      
      
      Priest
      
         Power Word: Solace has been redesigned.
         
            Power Word: Solace replaces Holy Fire. It deals the same damage and interacts with other spells and abilities in the same manner, but is instant, costs no mana, and restores 1% of maximum mana on each cast.
         
         
         Dominate Mind now has a 1.8 second cast time (was 2.5 seconds).
         Angelic Feather now has a 6 second duration (was 4 seconds).
         Body and Soul now has a 3 second duration (was 4 seconds).
         Glyph of Holy Fire has been redesigned. It now increases the range of Holy Fire, Smite, and Power Word: Solace by 10 yards.
         Discipline
         
            Focused Will now reduces damage taken by 15% per stack, with a limit of 2 stacks.
            Spirit Shell no longer benefits from Mastery, and now properly includes the benefits of Divine Aegis and critical effect chance.
            Rapture now provides mana equal to 250% (was 200%) of the Priest's Spirit, but no longer benefits from Spirit provided by short duration bonuses.
         
         
      
      
      Rogue
      
         Preparation is now a baseline ability learned at level 68.
         Versatility has been removed.
         New Level 90 Talent: Marked for Death
         
            Marks a target and instantly generates 5 combo points. When that target dies, Marked for Death's cooldown is reset. This talent has a 1 minute cooldown.
         
         
         New Level 60 Talent: Cloak and Dagger
         
            Ambush, Garrote, and Cheap Shot now have a 30 yard range, and will cause the Rogue to teleport behind the target.
         
         
         Burst of Speed now costs 30 Energy (was 50 Energy), can be used in Stealth, and always grants increased movement speed in addition to breaking snare effects, but no longer breaks root effects.
         Shuriken Toss now causes the Rogue to throw shuriken instead of autoattacking for 10 seconds after Shuriken Toss is used.
         Deadly Throw can now interrupt spellcasting when used at 3, 4, and 5 combo points, and upon interrupt prevents any spell in that school from being cast for 4, 5 and 6 seconds respectively (was 5 combo points and 6 seconds).
         Nerve Strike now reduces the effectiveness of healing provided by the target by 25%.
         Shadow Focus now reduces ability energy costs by 75% while stealthed (was 100%).
         PvP set bonuses have been changed:
         
            Vigor is now the 4 piece set bonus and increases maximum energy by 50 (was 10).
            Deadly Brew is now the 2 piece set bonus, and its effects remain unchanged.
         
         
         Combat
         
            Vitality now increases attack power by 30% (was 25%).
            Blade Flurry now deals 75% less damage.
         
         
         Subtlety
         
            Sanguinary Vein now increases the damage the target takes by 20% (was 16%).
         
         
      
      
      Warlock
      
         The Felhunter ability Spell Lock is now an interrupt, and no longer applies a 3 second blanket silence.
         Blood Fear has been redesigned. This ability is now cast on the Warlock, and causes melee attacks that strike within the next 60 seconds to fear the attacker. When cast, the ability has 1 charge, costs 20% health to activate, and has a 30 second cooldown.
         Soul Leech now provides an absorption shield instead of healing.
         Sacrificial Pact now requires the pet to sacrifice 25% of its health to activate (was 50%).
         Kil'jaeden's Cunning is now a passive talent, and its activated ability has been removed.
         The passive damage from Archimonde's Vengeance no longer has a visual effect.
         Grimoire of Sacrifice now increases the damage of abilities by 20% (was 25%) for Destruction, and 45% (was 50%) for Affliction.
         Grimoire of Sacrifice now provides the spell Whiplash instead of Seduction when a Succubus is sacrificed.
         Glyph of Burning Embers has been removed, and its effects are now baseline for Destruction Warlocks.
         Glyph of Soul Shards has been removed, and its effects are now baseline for Affliction Warlocks.
         New Glyph: Glyph of Ember Tap. This glyph increases the healing gained from Ember Tap by 50%.
         New Glyph: Glyph of Drain Life. This glyph increases the healing gained from Drain Life by 30%.
      
      
      Warrior
      
         Shockwave now has a 40 second cooldown (was 20 seconds), striking 3 or more targets will reduce its cooldown by 20 seconds.
         Second Wind now causes a Warrior that has been reduced to 35% health or lower to regenerate 2% of their health per second (was 3%), and now generates 15 Rage over 10 seconds (was 20 Rage).
         Warbringer now reduces the target's movement by 50% for 15 seconds (8 seconds in PvP) in addition to its other effects.
         Shield Barrier now scales approximately 10% less efficiently with attack power.
         Storm Bolt now deals 125% weapon damage (was 100%).
         Enraged Regeneration now costs 30 Rage (was 60).
         Glyph of Death from Above no longer increases the damage dealt by Heroic Leap.
         Arms
         
            Taste for Blood has been redesigned. It now causes the Warrior to gain 2 stacks of Overpower (maximum of 5 stacks) when Mortal Strike deals damage or the target dodges, and no longer interacts with Heroic Strike. It now requires level 20 (was level 50).
            Slam now deals 220% weapon damage (was 190%).
         
         
         Protection
         
            The base damage of Shield Slam and Revenge has been increased by 150%, but these abilities now scale approximately 10% less efficiently with attack power.
         
         
      
      
      Shaman
      
         Elemental Mastery now has a 1 minute cooldown (was 2 minutes).
         Shamanistic Rage is now available to Elemental Shamans as well as Enhancement Shamans.
         Conductivity no longer requires that the target be within the area of effect of Healing Rain.
         Ancestral Swiftness now increases spell haste by 5% and melee haste by 10% (was 5%/5%).
         Glyph of Purge now adds a 6 second cooldown to Purge.
         Stone Bulwark Totem now absorbs 25% more damage.
         Unleashed Fury Flametongue now increases Lightning Bolt damage by 20% (was 30%), and Lava Burst damage by 10% (was 0%).
         Primal Earth Elemental and Primal Fire Elemental now deal 20% more damage.
         Elemental Blast now has a chance to increase the caster's Agility for Enhancement Shamans.
         Glyph of Flame has been redesigned. This glyph now causes the Shaman to heal for 50% of the damage dealt by Flame Shock.
         Flame Shock's duration has been increased by 25%.

         
      
      
   
   
   Quests
   
      Warlocks can now undertake a solo adventure that culminates with the ability to change the color of their Fire spells to appear Fel green. The quest begins for those Warlocks determined or fortunate enough to have laid their hands on teh fabled Codex of Xerrath.

      
   
   
   Creatures
   
      Zandalari forces have begun scouting the shores of Pandaria, searching for the perfect invasion point.  The Zandalari can be found in Krasarang Wilds, Dread Wastes, Townlong Steppes, Jade Forest, and Kun-Lai Summit.  Zandalari Scouts can be handled by 1 or 2 players, while elite Zandalari Warbringers will likely require a full party of 5 heroes. Defeat Warbringers to gain special drops, including crafting materials, reputation gains, an achievement, and even the chance to get one of three new rare mounts!
      Galleon now respawns much more frequently, but players can only receive loot from him once per week.
      Dire Horns have been added as a tameable species for Hunters that have learned the required skill. Aspiring Dire Horn owners should seek out clues regarding these auspicious beasts.

      
   
   
   Pet Battles
   
      Supercharge now provides a 125% damage bonus (was 150%), and its cooldown is now 4 rounds (was 3).
      Sprite Darter Hatchling – Evanescence and Arcane Blast have swapped ability positions.
      Nether Roach is now a real roach and can now survive the apocalypse.
      Battle Pet Bandages now stack to 25 and are Bind to Account.
      Battle-Stones now have a chance to be awarded from PVP Pet Battles.
      Pets whose color schemes change each time they are summoned have returned. Older pets with this behavior now have it back, as well as some newcomers.
      Pet levels will now only display on the map when pets are tracked.
      Taming the World now lists its reward correctly in the Achievements pane.
      Level capped players will now have a chance to each Lesser Charms of Good Fortune after winning a pet battle versus a Pet within 5 levels of the highest level pet on their team. Higher level pets will offer a better chance to earn a Charm.
      Winning a pet battle versus a team within 5 levels of the player's highest level pet will now award player experience.
      Fleeing a pet battle will no longer despawn the pet that was being battled, but doing so will now inflict some damage on the fleeing pet battle team.
      Disconnecting from a pet battle will once again respawn the pets you were fighting.
      Any pet that has been killed in a pet battle will now never respawn.
      A number of new pets can be found on the Isle of Lightning, including Rare spawn drops, wild pets, and raid boss drops.
      Elite Battle Pets have been added to the game world. These rare pets will spawn alone against an entire team. A new quest has been added to track progress as these new pets are hunted down, and defeating that quest will award the new Red Panda pet.
      Please note: Many of these changes have not yet come to the PTR, but will be available soon.

      
   
   
   PvP
   
      PvP trinkets that clear loss of control effects will now also clear these effects from the player's pet as well.

      
   
   
   Items
   
      Skyshards are now Bind on Account.

      
   
   
   Sunsong Ranch
   
      Seed bags have been added, that allow planting of crops 4 plots at a time.
      Yoon's Mailbox has been renamed to Sunsong Ranch Mailbox.
      The yield from special crops has been improved to make farming them competitive with gathering these items out in the world.
      Running the Master Plow across underground Virmen will cause them to pop out of the ground at 30% health and stunned.
      Wild Crops will now occur less often.

Players that have grown attached to working the land at Sunsong Ranch can now purchase the land from Farmer Yoon. Once the farm is owned by a player, it becomes a rest point like an Inn, where the player can bind and instantly log out. Work orders will pour in to the farm from factions across Pandaria, and completing a work orders will earn a reputation boost with the issuing faction.

Seed bags have been added, that allow planting of crops 4 plots at a time.
The yield from special crops has been improved to make farming them competitive with gathering these items out in the world.
Running the Master Plow across underground Virmen will cause them to pop out of the ground at 30% health and stunned.
Wild Crops will now occur less often.

Nope they still haven't put it in. I'm hoping since it's early in the PTR they address that. People aren't going to wait for 5.3 to get them back in the game over the daily fumbles.

It's concerning that the headliners for patches have been NEW DAILY HUB. Also, didn't they say a while back that they were done doing raids with 12-15 bosses? I can't recall.

Oh and a side point, I'm not sure how I feel about them bringing back the "inaccessible" 13th boss for heroic mode only.

Exactly, you should get rep by doing things you enjoy. That was the point of the tabards. I would like it if they brought the tabards back for all dailies, scenarios, and dungeons.

I would like it if you could wear a tabard that assigned your daily rep to another faction if you were exalted.

allowing you to rep up with the factions essentially as a side effect of doing other things diminishes the sense that you are actually earning those rewards. 

Right, but that only really works if there are no "good" rewards on the reputations, other then larely cosmetic stuff.   I completely see where they are coming from in that when you have quality rewards on the factions, allowing you to rep up with the factions essentially as a side effect of doing other things diminishes the sense that you are actually earning those rewards.  That was the logic behind seperating the faction rewards from dungeon rewards in MoP.

That concept can die in a fire. I am tired of assholes who use digital pixels to validate their self worth fucking over my fun.  I already achieved in real life and I worked for the money to subscribe. Nothing in game should have to be "worked" for. The fun, in this case rewards, should be spoon fed to me if that's what I want.  If they want to turn it into a job then the game damn well needs to be free.  The challenge of anything in game should come from the content. It should be just rigorous enough to be fun and there should be different levels of rigor for the different type of people and it should all reward fantastically well. They need to quit giving a shit what the tiny vocal minority says about having people earn shit.

Wut? In Cata the epic faction rewards were better than anything you could get in Heroics; in WotLK they were on par with the epics which dropped from the final bosses of Heroics. I'm not sure how the rewards are better in MoP, other than there being more of them because they stupidly tied the badge rewards to rep.

Right, and that is the problem that they are trying to balance.  I can seee both sides of the issue.  They feel that getting essentially free access to stuff that is better then heroics simply as a side effect of doing said heroics (which already reward you with stuff) is a bit overkill.  The problem is that they have not managed to strike a good balance where the risk / reward value works out well.  They want you to have to "work" (at least a little bit) for any decent reward that improves your character.  The question is just getting the amount of "work" at a nice level where the community does not really view it as a grind or a job, but still values the time or effort commitment involved.

Don't make me grind dungeons/raids to earn Valor Points, then grind dailies to be able to spend them. I earned currency having fun, then had to "work" to be able to spend it. This is bad fucking design.

balance where the risk / reward value works out well.

Okay then, what has Ghostcrawler personally done?

he's just bad at the whole PR thing

I believe he's personally responsible for the talent overhauls. I believe he's personally responsible for the shift away (again) from "bring the player, not the class" design. I believe he's very much on board and actively pimping the tiered raiding decisions in the design room, even if he doesn't have final call on it.

So because he's the spokesman and public face of the dev team, every decision made by the dev team is actually made by him and (following logically on) the dev team is a polite fiction used to cover up Ghostcrawler's not-so-secret desire to destroy WoW?

    The new legendary item is a meta gem, not head enchant.
    Heroic Pandaria dungeons now award 100 Justice points per boss and gold drops scale based on number of players.
    Mists of Pandaria Season 2 Malevolent Gladiator’s PvP gear can now be purchased with Honor Points instead of Conquest Points, including weapons, but newly purchased Season 2 Malevolent Gladiator’s armor, offhands, and shields will have an item level of 476 (was 483). Existing Malevolent items are unaffected.
    Balance, Feral, Windwalker, Retribution, Shadow, Enhancement and Elemental now gain 25% of the bonus healing provided by PvP Power (was 0%).
    Players in low level battlegrounds will have their effective level raised to the maximum level allowed in that battleground bracket.
    Rated Battlegrounds now award conquest to the losing team based on their final score. The losing team can earn up to 200 Conquest Points from a very close match.
    Staves and polearms can be transmogrified to each other.
    Patch 5.0 Valor gear costs 50% less, and Patch 5.1 Valor Gear now costs 25% less.

    Staves and polearms can be transmogrified to each other.

Transmogrification rules have been broadened for several weapon types.

    Two-handed axes, maces, and swords can be Transmogrified to each other.
    One-handed axes, maces, and swords can be Transmogrified to each other.
    Staves and polearms can be transmogrified to each other.

For 5.2 you will be able to champion a faction and earn rep with them on your first heroic and scenario of the day

Also, before I forget, remember that in 5.2, you'll be able to receive Work Orders in Sunsong Ranch from all accross Pandaria, and completing a work order will earn a reputation boost with the issuing faction. So it should help reduce the burden of doing dailies for those of you that don't enjoy them that much :)

Aside from that, we call the Elder Charm 28.50 bag the fail bag because it fails as a consolation prize in generating excitement, or even feeling like a consolation. If you don't win a piece of gear, fine it happens, but at the very least spending a charm should give you something to look forward to. Getting a bag, anticipating what might be inside, and having the possibility of being excited about what it contains is the goal. That change will be in 5.2.

As someone who hasn't played MoP but still sort of keeps up with the news about WoW, what's the deal with that charm/bag whatever? I'm not familiar with that mechanic.

Also, before I forget, remember that in 5.2, you'll be able to receive Work Orders in Sunsong Ranch from all accross Pandaria, and completing a work order will earn a reputation boost with the issuing faction.

If your game includes "Work Orders" and is not some sort of sim or assassination-based game it's probably best to just close up shop. I mean FFS at least come up with name that doesn't immediately expose it as completely mundane.

You're growing crops for someone. What would you suggest they call it?

You're growing crops for someone. What would you suggest they call it?

So you don't like the Harvest Moon series of games?

I liked them, but they were ultimately pointless, since there wasn't really anything built around fighting other players.

Tell me I'm wrong.

I liked them, but they were ultimately pointless, since there wasn't really anything built around fighting other players.

Tell me I'm wrong.

What's your opinion on the pet battles?

Coming to the PTR in the near future will be a new designation of item type in Normal and Heroic raids for non-tier pieces. Each 5.2 raid boss will have a chance of dropping this new designation of a particular item that's 6 item levels higher than their counterparts. These higher quality versions will be called "Thunderforged". This means that there will be five variations of some items. You'll now see a 5.2 raid item of LFR quality at item level 502, the same item in Normal quality at item level 522, the item in Normal Thunderforged quality at item level 528, the Heroic version of the item at level 535, and the Heroic Thunderforged version of the item at level 541.

This new item designation is being added for a couple reasons, but first and foremost to make loot drops more interesting overall, especially after you have earlier bosses in Throne of Thunder on farm. As you're working on progression, those first few bosses can now continue to provide a chance at upgrades, making repeated kills potentially more exciting and rewarding. Those additional upgrades can then help to slowly raise power, and boost you over whatever progression roadblock you may hit.

We've also received a lot of feedback regarding 25-player raids, and have been looking for ways to address some concerns. Ever since we changed 10-player raids to drop the same item level as 25's, we've seen a steady decline in 25-player raiding. This isn't surprising. A 25-player raid takes an extra level of logistical commitment for the officers of those groups. It's unfortunately easy for a 25-player guild to collapse down into a 10-player guild, but very unlikely for the opposite to happen. However, we like 25-player raiding and don't want to see it go away. Like many players, we love the epic feeling that comes with banding together more massive groups to battle powerful foes, we love that there's opportunity for those groups to try out new players or unusual comps without causing a huge burden, and we want to support the larger raiding guilds. That said, we're also concerned that over-rewarding the 25-player guilds-if, for example, we went back to a higher item level across the board for 25's, as was the case for Icecrown Citadel-would feel like a slap in the face to the many 10-player raiders out there, who are the majority of our Normal and Heroic raiders.

To attempt to navigate this minefield, we're going to try having Thunderforged items drop more frequently in 25-player raids. They'll be somewhat rare in both cases compared to the standard versions that'll drop, but they'll be even rarer in 10's. Overall, a 25-player group will be more likely to end up with a slightly higher item level after several weeks of raiding.

It's important to keep in mind that this only affects 10- and 25-player Normal and Heroic raids, and tier-15 armor pieces won't be available in Thunderforged quality at all. We're curious to hear your thoughts about these changes, and what you think once you begin seeing them on the PTR..

Why would Blizzard care that fewer people are running 25 man raids?

- Good for community?
- if it gets any worse they'll cut 25 man raids from the game so this is a warning before the tl;dr "25 mans unpopular and we tried to fix it but there's no demand" GC post
- Devs raid 25 man at lunch?

The hilarity will be when everyone passes loot because it's not Thunderforged and is therefore completely useless to all.

I've tried several different loot systems. As long as you have a systemlimited loot, people would pass on early shit in favor of that awesome weapon on the guy we haven't killed yet, because it's early.

Any system where only one or two people are going to be rewarded will wind-up like this. The problem is it's another level of random on top of the already shitty drop rates for some items.

I won't take that dagger off this boss, because I'll be excluded from the shoulders on the next one.
I'm not going to blow my lucky coin here, because I'll be out for the week and not be able to roll it on the boss that drops a Thunderforged.
I'm not going to pick-up that piece of loot that's an upgrade NOW because there's a chance of a better one down the road.

Humans are naturally stupid about risk and chance.  This is covered in so many social and economic studies that it should be common knowledge. We will always make the bad choice, but then blame the fact the choice was there, not our evolutionary-derived stupidity about making choices.

So it's only going to create more angst and frustration, and that's why I called it the dumbest decision I've ever seen them make.

Humans are naturally stupid about risk and chance.

Those two problems seem mutually exclusive.

Someone in the Blizzard dev team is fixated on a nonsensical solution to a problem that doesn't exist? Say it ain't so.

Anyway, chain lightning is bugged on the PTR at the moment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BYKzDy_1D4
This needs to be a minor glyph.

I believe he mentioned that it may be bugged.

 :awesome_for_real:

Looks like LFR is getting a stacking 5% HP/Dam/Heal "fail buff" every time you wipe on a boss up to 10 stacks, until you kill that boss.

Meh. I can't remember the last time I actually saw a LFR group blow up (and I don't do non-LFR raids due to schedule issues). Some bosses can cause a wipe or two, but it's fairly straightforward as long as the tanks know their stuff. Are there really so many groups crashing and burning?

Ahahahah. I wonder how long it'll take before they do naked LFR runs where you just zerg a boss with no equipment on and intentionally wipe 5-10 times in a row as fast as possible, then just switch your gear on and own the fuck out of it.

    On Normal and Heroic mode, zone-wide auras have been activated in Mogu’shan Vaults, Heart of Fear, and Terrace of Endless Spring, reducing the health and damage of all enemies therein by 10%. A NPC near the entrance within each zone explains this, and offers to deactivate the buff for the benefit of brave/foolhardy adventurers.

    Level 90 players that use Dungeon Finder to look for a random Dungeon or Scenario will receive additional bonus Valor Points upon completing specific Dungeons or Scenarios.
    Dungeons
    Siege of Niuzao Temple: 5 bonus Valor Points
    Scholomance: 10 bonus Valor Points
    Shadow-Pan Monastery: 15 bonus Valor Points
    Completing the Scenarios: Brewmoon Festival, Greenstone Village, A Little Patience, and Theramore’s Fall will award 5 additional Valor Points.

Doesn't matter, too late.  I was the last stalwart casual here and I just realized I haven't logged on in a month. Game drove us off, I'm done again.

Yeah the tinfoil has gotten too strong. They've been nerfing raids when the new ones come out forever now.

Except Elegon, which is three lots of 3 minutes of trying not to fall asleep with two intervals of :facepalm:ing at idiots.
(This week it was "Who died this time? ....oh, the main tank" )

I'm kinda wondering if they're just using WoW to test out potential models and features for Titan now and seeing what sticks.

I'm kinda wondering if they're just using WoW to test out potential models and features for Titan now and seeing what sticks.

Doesn't spending points to upgrade an item instead of replacing it preserve the gems? That seems like a pretty big upside to me.

It's not that they have to release it because of the cash. They have to release it because they have nothing else in the pipeline except D3 expansions.

Looks like the new bonus boss in the heroic tier is going to have limited attempts. Given that devs outright said that limited attempts didn't work well in Wrath, I'm a bit  :roll: to see them show up again. Not that it really matters because almost nobody will ever fight this boss until the next expansion, but it's still pretty funny.

A few comments on our thinking. First off, I've seen some people quoting a 2010 WoW Dev Twitter chat where we said "Limited Attempts didn't really work out" as one of the WotLK retrospective points. That was true as they were generally utilized in that expansion. In the very same dev chat, we also said "If we do limited attempts again it would probably be limited to optional bosses like Algalon."

I only have a problem with them thinking this will work any differently than the other times. It's not going to magically become a good idea. The players will just work around it so-as not to waste tries, and the associated cooldowns.

You can't "level Up" an item to ever be equal to the next-highest drop.   So LFR gear leveled-up is still 5 ilevels below Normal Mode gear and the same for Normal -> Heroic.

There's a pretty obvious way to fix that problem.

Huh?  I think you have been out of the loop for a while.  All cooldowns longer then 5 minutes reset immediately uppon a raid wipe or boss death.

This never works well since for pretty much every major tier that the hardcore crew has cared about, there's been pretty blatant cheating/exploiting. The limited attempts thing will just reward whoever can figure out an exploit first.

I'm trying to remember the last time they banned a world first guild for something on an actual endboss. I'm coming up blank. I know they've been given slaps on the wrist for exploiting loot farming stuff, but not the boss itself.

So my guess is no, there won't be repercussions for anything on the limited thing.

I'm trying to remember the last time they banned a world first guild for something on an actual endboss. I'm coming up blank. I know they've been given slaps on the wrist for exploiting loot farming stuff, but not the boss itself.

So my guess is no, there won't be repercussions for anything on the limited thing.

The only guild I know of in WoW that really got shitcanned was whatever guild literally used hacks to do model swaps in AQ to bypass the trash.

The only guild I know of in WoW that really got shitcanned was whatever guild literally used hacks to do model swaps in AQ to bypass the trash.

Did anybody get perma-banned though? I'm not talking about a 72 hour slap on the wrist.

Having your home island go Atlantis on you might make people a little more...forthright and determined, mind you.

I don't mind troll dungeons, really, it's just sort of odd how they feel forced in sometimes (such as ... this time). But I blame that on the fact Blizzard sux@story, rather than trolls, y'know?

Oh, so it's another rep-bound valor vendor. What will they think of next?  :oh_i_see:

Whoo boy. Am I remembering this correctly, didn't Blizzard say they think they had too many dailies in 5.1? Why am I doing three hubs with several dailies each (and then some) the moment I set foot on the Isle of Thunder...  Well, it is less than five factions each having 6-8 quests per day but still.

Whoo boy. Am I remembering this correctly, didn't Blizzard say they think they had too many dailies in 5.1? Why am I doing three hubs with several dailies each (and then some) the moment I set foot on the Isle of Thunder...  Well, it is less than five factions each having 6-8 quests per day but still.

Whoo boy. Am I remembering this correctly, didn't Blizzard say they think they had too many dailies in 5.1? Why am I doing three hubs with several dailies each (and then some) the moment I set foot on the Isle of Thunder...  Well, it is less than five factions each having 6-8 quests per day but still.

I can still see it, still remember how I felt when I laid eyes on it. Blinking to wake up, telling myself I was already awake. The great palace listing to one side, like a drunk hunched against the wall. Still gleaming and gold. Was Rastakhan still inside? King of a crooked throne.

The morning sun glimmering off the seawater that crept into the forum. Pretty but for the jagged fissure tearing up the tile. We thought that was the worst of it. But the Cataclysm had only begun.

Water up a foot by the next evening. A week later, high tide came up to the market awnings. Still the sun shone. Like the world was saying it was sorry. Sorry to take your home. Sorry to give it to the sea.

World don't get off that easy.

:awesome_for_real:

LFRs are the new 5-mans, dude! Gear progression paths are AWESOME!  :uhrr:

Scenarios suck because there's no decent reward structure for them.  You don't get VP or JP for boss kills in the instance and completing one gives you the same as a Heroic. 

Their next "big announcement" wasn't supposed to happen until June, I thought.

TBH I didn't think scenarios were that bad of an idea (repeatable super-quests basically)

Durumu's fight basically goes: Cakewalk - cakewalk - cakewalk - EVERYBODY DIES!
It's going to get nerfed into the ground in a hotfix.