3.0 won't break everything

by Mike Schramm Aug 27th 2008 at 3:30PM

A lot of people (including some folks here at WoW Insider) are super concerned that when Blizzard does release a 3.0 patch early, it'll basically break everything we're doing now. Potion sickness on the live realms? Shield Block cooldown extended? With those changes, it seems bosses like Illidan would be basically unbeatable.

But Blizzard says, as they always do: don't worry. The latest word is that 3.0.2 is heading to the PTRs, and it's pretty clear that if 3.0 is going to break everything in the game, that's where Blizzard will find out. Don't forget that we've got months until the expansion comes out (and likely even a few months until the actual patch hits the live realms), which means there's tons of time to tweak and twist and get all of the new changes working with the old content.

This doesn't mean that things won't be broken -- we're curious to see, especially in even older instances like AQ and Molten Core, what things are like with all of the 3.0 updates. But it does mean that they'll likely be broken on the PTR -- in a few months from now, when this patch finally goes live, Blizzard should have most of the wrinkles evened out.

Tags: aq, blizzard, molten-core, panic, patch-3.0, patch-3.0.2, potion-sickness, ptrs, shield-block, wrath-of-the-lich-king

Filed under: Warrior, Patches, Analysis / Opinion, News items

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)

WaitWhat? Aug 27th 2008 3:38PM

I thought potion sickness was taken out, or that's what I read on here anyway.

Kyane Aug 27th 2008 4:48PM

Last I tested, the potion sickness debuff was gone, but the effect was still there. You can only use 1 mana pot while in combat, and then after you exit combat the 2 min CD starts.

If this changed with the last push, I don't know, I haven't had time to test :(

Levica Aug 27th 2008 3:38PM

I think it would be hilarious to cast Living Bomb on Baron Geddon. *cackles manically*

blkmasta55555 Aug 27th 2008 3:39PM

What I want to know is; will we have a 2.0-esque addon exodus?

Mark Aug 27th 2008 4:06PM

Indeed. Anybody else remember how badly they (purposefully) broke our favorite addons?

I'd love to see 3.0 return Decursive and CastParty. Yes, we have SmartDebuff and HealBot, and yes, they're almost as good, but that's not really the point: The point is that taking away that functionality didn't make the game more fun, it made healing more tedious. There's reasons my '2k' priest is 99% retired, and tedium is a big part of it.

Joshua Aug 27th 2008 6:28PM

It doesn't seem that 3.0 is going to be as huge of a change as 2.0 was
Addons seem to be less broken in the Wrath beta

Michou30 Aug 27th 2008 3:40PM

While I would like to see some changes to balance PvP, I m not sure how they will affect the game play at lvl 70 while it's originally designed for lvl 80 content.

I think 2.0 was in Vanilla WoW for about 1 month, right?

Groucho6 Aug 27th 2008 3:42PM

Yes potion sickness is currently out, but will probably be back before live after other tweaks. The time frame you assume is probably off, however. The Blizzard powers that be have already said Wrath will be released in the last quarter of this year, and as a public company that is now a solid commitment they have to fulfill under SEC rules, as a public company. The time frame mentioned for the content patch was "weeks," and I'll bet you will see it on live within two to three weeks, say mid-September. That will give all of the pre-expansion events and changes about two months to percolate and we'll see wrath likely between mid-November and mid-December. They are likely shooting for sometime in November to hit the Christmas buying season.

Robert M Aug 27th 2008 4:01PM

why do you think potion sickness will be back?

lazarel Aug 27th 2008 4:10PM

SEC rules????

So, if GM says their new solar car is going to be released in 4thQ 08, and then they find out the car won't start and they need new batteries for it they still have to release it before Dec 31? Even without batteries?

Really?

Or are these special SEC rules that just apply to video games?

Saelorn Aug 27th 2008 4:12PM

@ Robert M

They have officially stated that they don't want hours of farming beforehand to be mandatory for raids, yet as long as chain-chugging potions is technically available they are forced to design encounters that require it. Potion sickness gives them more freedom to design.

Omestes Aug 27th 2008 4:23PM

A) I don't think announcements like that are legally binding, or Blizzard would have been sued out of existence long ago. If (IFF, see B) Blizz was a publically traded company, and delayed a announced product, the worst that could happen would be some sell off, and some angry voices, but being that people expect it, I doubt much.

B) Blizzard (or Activision Blizzard) are not publically traded companies. Their parent company, Vivendi is the publicly traded one. With a corporation this large (and French) I really doubt anyone would sue over such a small thing.

Shefki Aug 27th 2008 5:10PM

Someone needs to look up the term "forward looking statement." So let's do that:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward-looking_statement

Now let's look at the press release that caused all this by the end of 2008 madness.

http://www.vivendi.com/corp/en/press_2008/documents/20080514_PR_Q12008.pdf

To save you all having to download the PDF it says "the second expansion set is anticipated to be released in the second half of 2008."

This became last quarter when Mike Morhaime told Shack News that it would not be out in the 3rd quarter, leaving only the 4th quarter of 2008 to still meet the above statement.

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/53962

Remember those words the wikipedia page said implied a forward looking statement? Let's see which one they used. Ohh look "anticipate."

And if you go all the way to the bottom of the press release is the good old forward looking statement disclaimer.

So no they're not obligated under SEC rules to do anything. It'll be out when it is out.