February 12, 2009

Dual spec Q&A with Ghostcrawler

Nethaera has posted an interview with Ghostcrawler about one of the hottest anticipated features coming to the game: the dual spec system. Players have asked for the ability to switch between two specs for a long time, and GC has finally laid out some real information about how it might work. Some of the interview we've heard before (that glyphs and hotbars will be saved, and so on), but there are quite a few bombshells:

  • You'll have to be max level to use the dual spec system, and you'll have to pay a one-time fee (not yet specified) to the trainer to use it.
  • Blizzard has apparently cemented how it will work: you'll need to be at a Lexicon of Power to change out your spec, or Inscribers will be able to make one (maybe reusable, maybe not) that will be summonable by "a ritual of several players" (no number given yet).
  • Respeccing will change only one set, so if you want to respec both specs, you'll have to pay twice.
  • We'll be getting a "Gear Manager" that will let us quickly and easily change out gear, either for the two specs or just to "strut around town." (This is the official Itemrack we've heard about.)
  • Hunters will be able to respec their pets at will, and they will get a new long cooldown ability that will let them remotely access their stables.
  • Players who respec will be able to configure their talents before they are saved.
  • And while the system is starting with two specs, Blizzard is considering adding more in the future.
Wow. GC says we'll see this on the PTR when it's ready to go (which sounds to us like the patch 3.1 PTR, but no guarantees there, either). Unfortunately, not all of this will be out right away (the Gear Manager specifically is marked as "not quite ready"), but it sounds like Blizzard is aiming to go all out with the dual spec feature and make sure everyone gets what they want.

February 10, 2009

WoW Patch 3.0.9 is Coming

In the fast and furious world of Wrath of the Lich King, Blizzard delivers a new patch hot on the heels of the less-than-stellar WOW Patch 3.0.8. According to MMO Champion, WOW Patch 3.0.9 will be going live this week, likely after Tuesday's weekly maintenance. It's a relatively minor patch but will have some significant changes for some classes and encounters. Notable changes include:


  • Paladin seals now last 30 minutes and are no longer dispellable

  • The Divine Plea nerf is pushing through, with the heal penalty raised to 50% but no longer dispellable

  • Hunger for Blood was buffed, and Mutilate was nerfed

  • Curse of Tongues, Slow, and Mind-Numbing Poison were nerfed to a maximum of 30% casting speed penalty

  • The void fissures in the Obsidian Sanctum have been recolored to make the encounter easier


The rest of the changes after the jump.

Druid

  • Ferocious Bite: This ability now only uses up to 30 energy in addition to its base cost.


Hunter

  • Kindred Spirits (Beast Mastery): This talent now grants 20% pet damage at max rank.

  • Serpent's Swiftness (Beast Mastery): This talent now grants 20% pet attack speed at max rank.


Hunter Pets

  • Lava Breath now reduces the target's casting speed by 25%, down from 50%.

  • Poison Spit now reduces the target's casting speed by 25%, down from 50%.


Mage

  • Arcane Power now increases damage and mana cost by 10%, cooldown reduced to 1 minute.

  • Arcane Power and Presence of Mind now share a category cooldown. Arcane Power causes a 15 second cooldown. Presence of Mind, once consumed, causes a 1.5 second cooldown.

  • Arcane Flows now reduces the cooldown of Presence of Mind, Arcane Power and Invisibility by 15/30%.

  • Presence of Mind: The cooldown has been reduced to 2 minutes, (down from 3.)

  • Slow (Arcane): now increases cast time by 30%, down from 60%.


Mage Glyphs


  • Glyph of Arcane Missiles -- Increases the critical strike damage bonus of Arcane Missiles by 25%.

  • Glyph of Mana Gem -- Increases the mana recieved from using a mana gem by 40%. (Up from 10%)

  • Glyph of Arcane Blast -- Increases the damage from your Arcane Blast buff by 3%. (Down from 5%)


Paladin


  • The duration on all Seals has been increased to 30 minutes and can no longer dispelled.

  • Divine Plea: The amount healed by your spells is reduced by 50% (up from 20%) but the effect can no longer be dispelled.

  • Sanctified Seals: This talent no longer affects dispel resistance, but continues to affect crit chance.


Paladin Glyphs


  • Glyph of Holy Light -- Your Holy Light grants 10% of its heal amount to up to 5 friendly targets within 8 yards of the initial target. (Down from 20 yards, Tooltip text fix, was already hotfixed to 8 yards in game)

  • Glyph of Seal of Righteousness -- Increases the damage done by Seal of Righteousness by 10%. (Old - Reduces the cost of your Judgement spells by 10% while Seal of Righteousness is active.)


Priest


  • Inner Fire duration has been increased to 30 minutes and can no longer dispelled.


Rogue


  • Hunger for Blood (Assassination): Now increases damage 5% per stack, (up from 3%.)

  • Mind Numbing Poison now reduces cast time by 30%, down from 60%.

  • Mutilate damage will now do 20% increased damage against poisoned targets, down from 50%.

  • Slice and Dice: This ability now increases melee attack speed by 40%, up from 30%.


Shaman Glyphs


  • Glyph of Windfury Weapon -- Increases the chance per swing for Windfury Weapon to trigger by 2%. (Down from 5%)


Warlock


  • Curse of Tongues: Now increases the casting time of all spells by 25% (Rank 1) and 30% (Rank 2), down from 50% and 60%.


Dungeons and Raids



The Obsidian Sanctum

Changed the color of the fissure in the Obsidian Sanctum to be more visually distinct.



User Interface


  • The "GM wishes to speak with you" alert/button, at the top of the screen, has been changed so that addons do not obscure it.

  • A clickable chat message has been added that duplicates the GM alert/button.

  • When a GM wishes to speak with you the Help Request minibar button will glow.

  • For additional notes on Lua and XML changes please visit the UI & Macros forum .


Bug Fixes


  • Fixed an issue where players using nVidia 3D glasses were unable to see spell cooldowns.

  • Fixed a software mouse cursor bug that was causing the mouse curser to disappear from view when over certain UI elements.

  • Fixed a player movement error in which other players were appearing to move erratically when traveling beside them.


This patch comes shortly after Blizzard deployed Patch 3.0.8 and Patch 3.0.8a, with Patch 3.0.9 looking terribly close to Patch 3.1. Will Patch 3.1 come sooner than we think? Some of the changes announced for 3.1 made it to this build, so it'll be interesting to keep an eye on what else Blizzard plans to implement.