Breakfast Topic: The pre-Wrath patch
by Zach Yonzon 
Aug 26th 2008 at 8:00AM
If that's the case, then we can expect to see the pre-Wrath patch in about four weeks! That's nerve-wrackingly close. Anyway, Eyonix ran through a list of stuff that will come with the patch and it's exciting to see that Inscription will be in it. This means that players won't be required to purchase Wrath of the Lich King in order to take it up, unlike Jewelcrafting. There are a bunch of other stuff coming in the patch -- what's the thing that excites you most?
Filed under: Patches, Polls, Analysis / Opinion, Breakfast topics, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Serathis Aug 26th 2008 8:06AM
Definately the new spells and talents.. Can't wait for hex and thunderstorm!
Ikarus Aug 26th 2008 3:09PM
Thunderstorm FTW!
btw, heres a link to a recent comment from Tigole about the pre-wrath patch:
http://www.wowblues.com/us/which-classes-are-done-9244876102.html
"None of the classes are done. They are still being iterated on. 3.0 will be on the PTR's soon. There is still a lot of testing before 3.0 would go live to public servers.
If you look back at past patches, we've had patches on the PTR for over 2 months before."
So, may be not as soon as we might have been hoping?
Lucas Aug 26th 2008 8:07AM
After playing in the Beta, I can say that talents are a needed addition to the game right now. After respeccing on my mage, I'm getting a more consistent DPS than I was before. It will take a while to get used to all the changes, but they're a much needed overhaul for every class.
As for Inscription... since it's not fully implemented into the Beta yet, I'm not sure about it.
Larry-Steve Aug 26th 2008 8:08AM
Frustrating that some of the new talents are built around abilities that won't be able to trained until post 70 levels, i.e. Lava shock for the enh shamans new crit synergy.
Angus Aug 26th 2008 9:45AM
In the coming weeks doesn't make me feel confident, actually.
How much is NYI? And Shaman are quietly waiting for their stuff to actually work. We can't give any feedback on the whole thing since all they decided to add was new ranks of heals and elemental damage spells.
They seriously need to fix our trees to get rid of unneeded bloat. There's a difference between having too many choices and having to spend 5 talent points at the 35+ talent level to get what a DK gets for 2 at the 25+ level.
(Improved Icy Talons vs Unleashed Rage)
We also are seeing a lot of mail with MP/5 all over it and no crit. So it is worthless for elemental and not taking advantage of the new stuff for resto. It's like one team decided to make everything work with elemental gear in the talent trees and the itemization team decided all spellcaster shaman should be resto. Not smart at all.
Heck, how can you comment on a 51pt talent when it has not been made to work right?
darian Aug 26th 2008 10:44AM
In the coming weeks should make you feel confident.
Blizzard's timelines are very similar to those in the Wrath of Khan. When Blizzard says something will take days, you can expect it to take weeks. We won't be seeing a PTR patch for at least a month, which is plenty of time for Blizzard to finish their extensive talent reviews in the beta.
They're telling us it's coming now because they've probably committed to it and started work on it now.
Ed Aug 26th 2008 8:09AM
Hunter pet skills and talents for me - definitely an excuse to dust off my 70 hunter!
Name Anonymous Aug 26th 2008 8:15AM
Based on the 2.0 patch, we'll see data available for the Background Downloader 2 to 4 weeks before the 3.0 patch goes live. Also, all the largish patches were available as background downloads at least 2 weeks before going live.
Now add to the fact that they did a 2.0 PTR, we'll in all likelihood see a 3.0 PTR before we see the 3.0 patch. This PTR is liable to run for a month if there are no major issues.
So, based on the above, I expect we won't see the 3.0 patch until October at the earliest
Warbly Aug 26th 2008 8:32AM
At first, I was pretty excited, what with a new profession to try out and such. Then, I started thinking about the impact of new talents and spells for classes on current gameplay, specifically, does this patch mean the end of TBC raiding?
Think about the class redefining changes that will hit without the corresponding itemization changes forthcoming in the expansion. From what i can think of off the top of my head, Paladin and Warrior tanks are losing tanking talents and Warlock itemization is completely changing (destro moving to fire, nerfs to shadow damage, spirit based mana regeneration emphasis).
For those of us that play the game to raid and are still progressing through content, these changes may prove to be quite detrimental.
derella Aug 26th 2008 9:11AM
I think the itemization changes will definitely go in with the patch. As you pointed out, virtually all of the new talents rely on them... It's not something they would likely overlook.
darian Aug 26th 2008 11:01AM
The itemization changes aren't going to break the current model. The changes will make you better suited toward different itemization, but in almost all cases you won't lose anything for sticking with what you've got and playing as you always did.
There are a few changes that could be problematic. If TBC bosses still crush, for example, Warriors will be in something of a bind with the changes to Shield Block. Those issues are few and far between.
Buuty Aug 26th 2008 8:22AM
Meanwhile, Warhammer Online is coming along nicely and looks much better than WoW did in beta.
Zach Aug 26th 2008 9:18AM
Warhammer scaled down a lot of its features in an effort to be released early. I have a strong feeling it'll blow. Besides, it's not out for Macs, so that's a huge minus for me right there.
Nick S Aug 26th 2008 9:49AM
Zach, I tend to agree with you. Too many games get rushed out the door - if you want to play in WoW's territory, you can't rush. When I heard they were making cuts to get the game done sooner, I heard a distant dirge for Warhammer.
Look at Age of Conan - a cool concept, nice graphics, but the game isn't done! When you foist a stinking pile of bugs and incomplete content on players, they'll go right back to the one place they know will always offer quality.
Iwanttobeasleep Aug 26th 2008 10:48AM
Just what do you hope to achieve by posting this? Anyone who would agree probably is, and those of us who have no intention of switching just get more annoyed. You're not convincing anyone.
PS. It looks better because it borrowed a lot from WoW!
darian Aug 26th 2008 10:50AM
Exactly, what many people miss is that Warhammer and other MMOs aren't competing with beta WoW, they're competing with current WoW.
To make more than a passably successful MMO you need to spend *more* time in development than other games. Otherwise players will balk at the bugs/lack of feature/lack of polish after the trial/initial sale and you lose subscription revenue.
I *hope* Warhammer doesn't make that mistake simply because it'd be nice to have a break from the endless line of failed MMOs.
Chris Anthony Aug 26th 2008 10:53AM
Zach, I'm frankly enjoying Mythic's "fuck the students" tactic toward the WAR release. Between a release date nearly a month *after* schools begin, failing to address the Mac audience, and reducing features etc. to rush it out the door for the (really, really stupid) release date, I doubt WAR will get even a quarter the traction that its fanboys think it will.
Vagrant Aug 26th 2008 1:48PM
"PS. It looks better because it borrowed a lot from WoW!"
...
Guards, swap him. Vewy woughly!
That joke is so passé these days, just because everyone knows that Warcraft completely ripped off its appearance from Warhammer art/figurines doesn't mean it's funny or clever to claim that the reverse is true for the bazillionth time. It's no different than a Chuck Norris joke, and thus really very imbecilic.
I'm all for being funny but seriously... try harder.
Ponch Aug 26th 2008 8:27AM
does anyone know if u can make a death knight or does it copy an alt u have..I heard u make a copy of a lvl55 character u have but its a death knight. I have 2 Draenei Shamans and would love a gnome death knight LOL
h8rain Aug 26th 2008 8:33AM
If you have a lvl 55 toon (or higher) it simply "unlocks" the ability to make a new toon as a DK