5.4 - Needs more kitchen sink

[Paelos]

I've never seen the face of my toon since I created it. All the helms cover it.

[Ingmar]

WoW face customization is basically a joke already anyway. The only features that really stand out are hairstyles and skin colors, and shit like horns for the races who have them.

[Rokal]

You could make the bandages have gaps in different areas, change the color of the 'ethereal' glow underneath, etc.

I don't know if that'll ever be a playable race though. With armor on they'll pretty much just look like humans. If they keep the jumpy/fading movement style it'll also be pretty disorienting I'd think.

[Lantyssa]

Armor isn't an issue.  Women will be mostly naked anyways, and undead cuts holes in all their stuff.

[Feverdream]

After suffering through an expansion of female Pandaren faces - all of which have exactly the same lobotomized expression - ethereals look pretty good to me.

[Simond]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcuOV4Zel-g

 

[Simond]

* Epic quality (purple) Valor items sold by the Shado-Pan Assault now have their reputation requirements reduced to Friendly or below, and have their Valor Point cost reduced by 34%.
* Epic quality (purple) Valor items sold by all other Mists of Pandaria faction quartermasters no longer have reputation requirements, and will now cost Justice Points instead of Valor.

Oh hey, there might be a reason to run heroics now.

[Paelos]

It'll make it easier for me to come back and try out 5.4 at least.

[Rokal]

The other two details:

Rare quality (blue) items have their Justice Point cost reduced by 75%.
No changes for items that require an Exalted reputation.

Between the VP/rep changes and dirt cheap JP gear, it'll be even easier to reach the gear level required for LFR now. Exalted (cosmetic) items are unaffected.

[Ragnoros]

It is kinda funny watching Blizzard do this same dance every expansion. Making blue items "matter" and hiding the good gear behind infinite cock-blocks for a few months, easing things out a bit after a couple patches, and then just giving the shit out like candy towards the end of the cycle.

Edit: Funny is not quite the right word. Maybe morbidly fascinating? Anyway, while I'm always curious to see what Blizzard has cooking, I can only imagine the current expansion pack cycle will continue, given that no outside source has really added anything to the MMO space for Blizzard to refine. (A sad fact schild has bluntly stated as major motivation for the site revamp.) Sure they can easily coast on WoW revenue and (investor) goodwill for the foreseeable future, but Cryptozoic just scooped them on the TCG refinement front with Hex, SC2 is peanuts compared to LoL, D3 is just getting around to finding the fun over a year in, and they just canceled/delayed their big unannounced thing. I guess I am just musing as to where their ship is headed, if anywhere... Were we talking about Wow? Sorry.

[apocrypha]

It is kinda funny watching Blizzard do this same dance every expansion. Making blue items "matter" and hiding the good gear behind infinite cock-blocks for a few months, easing things out a bit after a couple patches, and then just giving the shit out like candy towards the end of the cycle.

Why is it so funny/fascinating? That's their model. That's how it works every expansion, it's not accidental, it's not purely reactive, it's The Plan.

Seems to be working too, it means the more determined players get shinies earlier than the less determined players, but over the duration of the expansion everyone ends up getting something nice.

It if ain't broke...

[SurfD]

It is kinda funny watching Blizzard do this same dance every expansion. Making blue items "matter" and hiding the good gear behind infinite cock-blocks for a few months, easing things out a bit after a couple patches, and then just giving the shit out like candy towards the end of the cycle.

Why is it so funny/fascinating? That's their model. That's how it works every expansion, it's not accidental, it's not purely reactive, it's The Plan.

Seems to be working too, it means the more determined players get shinies earlier than the less determined players, but over the duration of the expansion everyone ends up getting something nice.

It if ain't broke...

They also sort of have to do it, with the way iLevel gaps occur between expantions.  I mean, if you had a fresh 85, who had never set foot in a raid, and took them to Pandaria, the basic quest mobs in the stater area were fucking dangerous in groups of 2 for most people, simply because they were scaled based on the expectation that most people doing the quests would have an iLevel at least partially scaled towards the latter end of the Cata gear curve.  If they make it stupidly hard to play catchup in some form or another in a Tiered system, you end up with strange things happening in regards to fresh players entering the scene.  Especially when new tiers tend to quite largely completely obsolete the need to do old tiers.

[Paelos]

It if ain't broke...

That's a debatable point at this juncture. They've had to do more than just loosen the hold on gear and gating. In recent xpacs, they've had to add major quality of life components to the deal in later patches, usually to respond to the fact that subs dropped faster than planned.

If they continue to try that as "The Plan" for another xpac, they will find themselves with half the subs they had a year ago. I don't think they will, though. The delays of Titan and other projects have forced Blizzard to actually pay attention to their cash cow.

[Lakov_Sanite]

It is kinda funny watching Blizzard do this same dance every expansion. Making blue items "matter" and hiding the good gear behind infinite cock-blocks for a few months, easing things out a bit after a couple patches, and then just giving the shit out like candy towards the end of the cycle.

Why is it so funny/fascinating? That's their model. That's how it works every expansion, it's not accidental, it's not purely reactive, it's The Plan.

Seems to be working too, it means the more determined players get shinies earlier than the less determined players, but over the duration of the expansion everyone ends up getting something nice.

It if ain't broke...

They also sort of have to do it, with the way iLevel gaps occur between expantions.  I mean, if you had a fresh 85, who had never set foot in a raid, and took them to Pandaria, the basic quest mobs in the stater area were fucking dangerous in groups of 2 for most people, simply because they were scaled based on the expectation that most people doing the quests would have an iLevel at least partially scaled towards the latter end of the Cata gear curve.  If they make it stupidly hard to play catchup in some form or another in a Tiered system, you end up with strange things happening in regards to fresh players entering the scene.  Especially when new tiers tend to quite largely completely obsolete the need to do old tiers.

Not true at all. Fresh 85's can easily do the first few quests in pandaria, the difficulty level on the mobs doesn't ramp up all that fast.  It's also no coincidence that the very first quest in pandaria yields a weapon either.

The purples falling off trees mechanic is not so much for the next expansion as it is for people to catch up to the current patches content.

[Ragnoros]

It is kinda funny watching Blizzard do this same dance every expansion. Making blue items "matter" and hiding the good gear behind infinite cock-blocks for a few months, easing things out a bit after a couple patches, and then just giving the shit out like candy towards the end of the cycle.

Why is it so funny/fascinating? That's their model. That's how it works every expansion, it's not accidental, it's not purely reactive, it's The Plan.

Seems to be working too, it means the more determined players get shinies earlier than the less determined players, but over the duration of the expansion everyone ends up getting something nice.

It if ain't broke...

I realize it's The Plan. But I still find it funny watching people bitching about raids, faction grinding, gear, and what have you every expansion, Blizzard then fixing/nerfing it all, so people go "Yay, Blizzard listened to us!", and then we repeat the exact procedure over again each expansion. As Paelos said, they might not be able to get away with it for another four expansions if they hope to keep subs up.

[Lakov_Sanite]

I would say they very much aren't getting away with it but the problem is the machine is too big now. They can't fundamentally change how anythng works, all they can do is add even more raid difficulties or challenge modes in hopes it will hold peoples interest. They still think more daily hubs = content so it's not likely that anything is changing until the next game comes along.

[Lakov_Sanite]

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/10428013/New_Stuff_Coming_to_the_Pet_Store_-7_12_2013


So, why are we paying a monthly sub again?

[SurfD]

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/10428013/New_Stuff_Coming_to_the_Pet_Store_-7_12_2013


So, why are we paying a monthly sub again?

Adding new purely cosmetic stuff to a store that sells purely cosmetic stuff is suddenly going to change something?

[Simond]

[Lakov_Sanite]

Wow stopped being about stats and started being about cosmetics a long time ago.  I'm not saying it's the end of the world but once you have a cash shop in full force like this you do have to wonder what value you are getting for a subscription when compared to any other comparable mmo out there right now.

[Rendakor]

Uh, what?

[Lakov_Sanite]

"A long time ago" is exaggeration on my part, this is mostly the advent of LFR.  Right now however you don't need top end gear to see content, you don't need top end gear in wow for anything but the harder modes which, by and large, people don't do.  It's turned into more of a transmogrify based drive towards items these days since getting into LFR is easy and going past LFR is kind of pointless.

[Simond]

http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/3312-Patch-5-4-Timeless-Isle-Patch-5-5-SoO-Raid-Testing-5-4-Notes-Update-Blue-Posts
From the patch notes -

New Area: Timeless Isle

    A mysterious island, lost for millennia to the currents of time, has emerged from the mists off the eastern coast of Jade Forest.
    Players seeking to explore the Timeless Isle should check their mailboxes, where a Curious Ticking Parcel awaits. Unwrapping it will set you on the first step of your new adventure.
    The Timeless Isle is inhabited by all manner of strange and powerful creatures that will test the mettle of solo explorers, but great rewards await the brave and skillful: epic loot, bind-to-account gear, Mogu Runes of Fate, pets, mounts, fun toys, and much more.
    The Isle is filled with secrets and mysteries, many of which dynamically become available to explorers. Keep an eye on your minimap while on the Isle for information on nearby events!
    The Timeless Isle is home to five new world raid bosses! Players may face each of the four Celestials in a trial of combat.
    Heroes who have earned the legendary cloak from Wrathion may access the sanctum of the fiery Yaungol demigod Ordos, atop the Timeless Isle.

From MMO-Champion:

Patch 5.4 - Timeless Isle
The Timeless Isle was opened today and we took a quick look around tonight:

    You will receive an item in the mail that will teleport you to the Isle, allowing you to learn the flightpath there.
    Next there is a one time quest that sends you all over the Isle to explore it, before heading back to the Celestial Court in the center.
    The Celestial Court has the four Aspects world bosses in the center, with many of the NPCs from Mists of Pandaria around the outside.
    You can purchase the new aspect pets here for 3 x Celestial Coin, which are a reward of the tournament that requires 30 level 25 pets to enter.
    There are no flying mounts on the isle!
    Most NPCs, objects, and gathering nodes scattered around the isle drop Timeless Coins, as well as the pet battle and lore daily quests.
    Timeless Coins are used to purchase Timeless Caches for 7500 x Timeless Coin, which reward item level 496 gear, similar to Battlefield: Barrens. You can also buy Mogu Runes for 2500 x Timeless Coin.
    You can also buy Kukuru's Cache Key for 500 x Timeless Coin, which will open any chest in Master Kukuru's cave. These chests contain Timeless Coins and other minor loot.
    There is a Pouch of Timeless Coins that costs 500 Valor Points as well, presumably rewarding you with even more Timeless Coins.

Currently on Test the timeless coins drop like rain in a monsoon, but how much of that is "It's Test" and how much is intended remains to be seen. Oh, and the 496 catch-up epics are apparently bind to account, not BoP.  Whatever happened to "No escalators to Everest", I wonder?

[Fabricated]

I imagine they'll justify it with a ridiculous unfun grind to get them.

[Merusk]

Since one cache costs 7,500 coins, you'd be right. 

Even if 'dropping like rain in a monsoon' = 300 coins per drop that's 25 drops per attempt (chest).

Since the chest loot is randomized, let's say you're looking at an average of 40 chests to get your full set and that's 1,000 nodes. Even if it's only 30 chests that's 750 nodes.

[Simond]

At this point Blizzard could make epics rain from the virtual skies and people would bitch about the terrible grind of being forced to walk around to pick them up.

[SurfD]

At this point Blizzard could make epics rain from the virtual skies and people would bitch about the terrible grind of being forced to walk around to pick them up.

Reminds me of the comment someon made on the official forums that even if Blizzard were to literally hand people 1000 dollars there would be a 99% chance that someone would complain that it was all in 20s.

[Lakov_Sanite]

At this point Blizzard could make epics rain from the virtual skies and people would bitch about the terrible grind of being forced to walk around to pick them up.

A more apt analogy would be putting a $100 bill in a pile of cat litter.  Sure it's not too hard to wipe off...but still.

[Simond]

If you've reached the point where playing the game is analogues to rummaging around in a litter-tray, you should probably quit.
You know, just as an FYI.

[Lakov_Sanite]

It's fun to white knight things.

[Simond]

Oh dear, is that the best you've got?

[Fabricated]

I did quit, quite some time ago actually. They should bring back the heroic loot fountains. And make it hand-itemized loot instead of the random property stuff because I guarantee that was done to make the loot seem more like "stuff for scrubs".

You should literally be able to hit cap, get a few buddies, run heroics, and be final NORMAL raid ready in a day without ever running a daily.

Basically make it like the dreaded days of WOTLK, which was fun where none of Cata was and everything past the leveling experience of Pandaria wasn't.

[Paelos]

I have no problem with anything you just said, and I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

[Simond]

I did quit, quite some time ago actually. They should bring back the heroic loot fountains. And make it hand-itemized loot instead of the random property stuff because I guarantee that was done to make the loot seem more like "stuff for scrubs".

You should literally be able to hit cap, get a few buddies, run heroics, and be final NORMAL raid ready in a day without ever running a daily.

Basically make it like the dreaded days of WOTLK, which was fun where none of Cata was and everything past the leveling experience of Pandaria wasn't.

* Epic quality (purple) Valor items sold by the Shado-Pan Assault now have their reputation requirements reduced to Friendly or below, and have their Valor Point cost reduced by 34%.
* Epic quality (purple) Valor items sold by all other Mists of Pandaria faction quartermasters no longer have reputation requirements, and will now cost Justice Points instead of Valor.

Oh hey, there might be a reason to run heroics now.

I bolded it this time. 

[Paelos]

Ok what's the lvl on those items? Do you still have to do LFR of all the previous crap to open the new crap?