Patch 5.3: Crazy Changes for PVP
Blizzard has really been doing an awesome job this expansion bringing us consistent, frequent, and meaningful patches. Upcoming patch 5.3 appears to be no exception so far. While, there are a lot of strange data mining discoveries so far (such as a spell for a third talent specialization) the biggest changes I’m seeing are to PVP. First off… hunters – gone! Second, resilience is being removed from gear. Finally, PVP will now feature gear scaling similar to challenge modes. Okay, so only two of those things is true. Follow after the break to see which and also the rest of the patch notes relating to PVP.
The Valor Dance: Dailies, Reputation, Upgrades, Trouble
Mists of Pandaria has brought us a bit of a roller coaster when it comes to our valor points and how we acquire and speed them. In Cataclysm, there were very few changes (just the move from 1 dungeon per day awarding valor to 7 per week) and we essentially just did a few heroic dungeons, killed a few raid bosses, and spent our points when we had enough. In MoP, however, the valor gear was gated behind reputation which was gated behind dailies. Valor being unspendable before doing enough dailies has been much lamented by the player base. Of course, since launch, each patch has brought a new curve ball in terms of valor. Continue to see the different valor changes so far, the problems with those changes, and what’s coming up in patch 5.3!
Warcraft Around the World
I was looking at my site statistics recently and noticed a massive variety of views from different countries. Now, I have no illusions that this blog is something super popular – it isn’t, but if you look at that map above, it shows all of the countries with views on this blog. Not only is it personally interesting to me, but also shows how wide spread Warcraft really is. The world is a really small place. Continue along to see the full list of countries that have viewed this, you might be surprised to see how far Warcraft and interest in the game have spread. (more…)
Wild Speculation About the Future
Occasionally, we all get the urge to speculate about how the future will turn out. It’s practically a compulsion that’s part of the human condition. Everything from end of the world prophecies that get people in an uproar to gambling show people’s desire to see what’s coming. Us Warcraft players are no different but unlike in the real world scenarios that don’t seem likely (I’m looking at you 2011 raptures) – there is pretty much no end to what Blizzard could bring us. Looking back at Mists of Pandaria, I doubt many people saw the Pandaren coming but finding out there is a new titan facility that we’d yet to discover wasn’t a big shock. Continue after the break for some (potentially) crazy ideas about what I predict is in the pipeline and some stuff that just isn’t going to happen (move on demon hunter dreamers!).
Transfer Gold Cross Realm
Ever want to start a character on a new server but don’t want to do it without the power of your gold? Transfer to a different server but hampered by pesky limits on gold transfer limits? Something recently occurred to me, it may have been obvious to others, but I’d yet to hear about it. The new pet system in 5.2 is a perfect way to send gold between characters on different servers. Continue to see how and why this works.
Magni Bronzebeard Returns?
Last night Chris Metzen, the Senior Vice President of Story and Franchise Development with Blizzard, was blowing up twitter answering random “x or y” tweets (he didn’t get to my ninja turtles vs dungeon boss question, unfortunately). One of his responses (shown after the page break) may have incidentally revealed something larger than the community has realized so far. For those who are unaware, Magni Bronzebeard is the elder of the 3 Bronzebeard brothers and is the rightful King of the Dwarves at Ironforge. Unfortunately, after messing around with some titan relics somewhere during patch 4.1 in Cataclysm, he has been turned entirely to diamond. This left a void for his estranged daughter, now leading the Dark Iron Dwarves (see: bad guys) to come take a place of power in Iron Forge. But, Chris Metzen’s tweet may have hinted that Magni is coming back.