PTR: First Real Experience in Zul'Aman

I just finished my first run in the new Zul'Aman instance, which goes live next Tuesday. And I don't want to spoil any surprises for you, but I do have to say that the instance is most definitely a gear check. Our group of players was getting slammed all over the place, tanks nearly one-shotted, DPS seemed to be running out of steam, and healers just barely kept up, and all on the first boss!

Given, the raid group was a PuG on the PTR, and that created some communication roadblocks and other difficulties that probably made things more complicated than they needed to be. Still, the instance does seem to up the difficulty level for 10-mans, even if just a bit for those that are properly geared. The under-geared in our group definitely had a very difficult time, however, and our overall performance suffered as a result. The impression I had (and do keep in mind that this is only my first) is that pre-Karazhan blues just won't cut it in Zul'Aman. And casters, an excellent Spell Hit rating is a must.

All in all, the run was an enjoyable introduction to what we all be will seeing quite regularly come next week. Oh, and when you do eventually venture into Zul'Aman, bring two tanks. I know, I know, I said I wouldn't spoil anything. But trust me. You'll thank me later. ;)

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Tip of the Week: Hitchhike a Battleground

If you're like me, you often find yourself in Shatt with Hearthstone on cooldown, but needing to visit the AH for some auction goodness. If you then portal to Org or the UC to take care of business, you'd have to make your way back to Outland via the Dark Portal, which is a bit further than around the block. Of course, you could always summon the help of a Mage to tag along and port you from one place to another, but willing Cloth-wearing Vending Machines are a little hard to come by. And since waiting for your Hearth's CD is definitely out of the question, what do you do?

The answer is actually pretty simple. Que up for the PvP Battlegrounds before you port away from Shatt. Once you've done so, you can head over to Org or UC, deal with your AH duties, enter a Battleground, "/afk," and viola, you're back in Shatt. In order for this to work, however, you'll have to move rather fast, hope that the BGs don't pop too soon, and not allow the invitations for them to expire. If you can do all of this, you've essentially created another Hearthstone.

Instant gratification for the win.

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Thank You

Pie for everyone! To all of those who whispered, emailed, and cheered at the blog's recent mention in WoW Insider, a heart-felt thanks. And I gotta thank the wonderful cast over at WI as well, who took the time to read my message, the blog post, and for their efforts in keeping all of us WoWers informed. Many thanks. =)

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PvP: Season 3 Start Date, Bye-Bye Season 1 Titles

Take note, ladies and gentlemen. On this day, Blizzard kept their word. You may want to pay attention to today's date as well, not only because it is indeed a rare and momentous occasion, but also because two weeks from today, Season 3 of Arena PvP begins. That's November the 20th - the morning after a weekly scheduled maintenance. And what does all of this mean, exactly? Well, outside the realm of the team-rating resets and the introduction of Season 3 gear, it would probably be a good idea to SAVE YOUR ARENA POINTS at this point. S3 gear will cost just as much as S2 gear does now, and even if you have your eye on a current piece (like I do), it'll be marked down come the 20th, so hang on to those points either way.

Also, if you haven't already, now might be a good time to start hording your 75k in standard BG Honor Points and Tokens, to spend on the refreshed Veteran's gear and even S1 gear if you need it. Not only does that gear offer a great starting point for those who lack Resilience, it's also sexy as hell. Consult Drysc's handy Q&A resource for further information.

Speaking of that post, did anyone else notice the bit that mentioned Season 1 Titles being reset? Apparently, titles are only offered as a reward for the previous season's performance. If a player does not participate in the following season or does not perform as well, they will either lose their title or it will change based upon their new standing, respectively. In other words, S1 Gladiators would have to perform their PvP feat all over again during S2 in order to keep their title. Otherwise, POOF, the title is gone. Pretty harsh imho, even if just a little.

Suddenly, having a permanent High Warlord title seems like a much greater thing than it did a minute ago...

See you next season. =)

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Song of the Week

When I first heard this song late last week, I was absolutely floored. So much so, that I had to consult with other audiophiles to make sure that it was as good as I thought it was. They agreed that the song (and it's music video) is simply amazing; a marriage of different sounds so flawless that it has literally taken a few days for me to allow it's grandeur to sink in. I've listened to it over and over, and each time I appreciate it even more. I can say with certainty that this is the best song I have heard all year. Why I hadn't heard this song since it's release in 2005, I can't explain. Everyone should hear this asap, and this is why it comes to you now, early as this week's SotW. Here's Nightwish's Nemo. Enjoy. :)

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PTR: Silence Changes Cancelled, Bliz <3 Shamans

Wow. Just, wow.

Not long after I finish my post on the changes incoming to Silence and Interrupts, I do a search for recent Blue posts and find a thread by Eyonix retracting the diminishing returns tweak altogether. Apparently all the complaints coming from certain classes paid off (not certainly, but definitely likely). Either that, or Kalgan has a Shaman alt we don't know about.

Eyonix did say that the issue will be addressed in the future, however. Why they are putting it off considering that it makes complete sense from a game-mechanics standpoint is beyond me though. From what I experienced, the changes had a very minimal effect at best in most situations, and in 5v5 Arena, it actually forced people to be more careful and play better. Was that too much of Blizzard to ask? Was it too difficult for players to put up with?

Apparently so on both counts. Very sad indeed.

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DC Comics Figurines are Toys

Am I the only one taking issue with DC Comics for calling their WoW offerings "action figures?" As if I didn't feel juvenile enough already for playing a video game and writing about it every day. And now, I'll have to explain to my wife why I spent money on what's normally conceived as a children's toy. They couldn't have called it a sculptured piece or a collector's figurine or something a little more distinguished like that? Sigh. Well, if they didn't make the Warlock figure as excellent as it looks, I wouldn't be having this moment of discontent. At least they didn't call it a "doll," I guess.

To get an "action figure" of your own, check this website for local resellers.

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PTR: Silence and Interrupt Changes

About midway through the General section of the PTR Patch Notes, you'll find that "Silence and Interrupt effects now have diminishing returns when used on PvP targets." And while this has many classes up in arms, it has me saying "it's about time!" Sure, a Warlock's Fel Hunter and Spell Lock will be affected by the changes being implemented, but I'm not too worried about that. An astute Warlock doesn't spam the ability or have it on "Auto" anyway, but instead uses it conservatively and carefully in any PvP environment. That's especially so in Arena play. So really, the impact on the 'lock is minimal from that standpoint.

From the opposite end of the spectrum, however, it's a different story. Where the changes really come into play are with abilities such as Earth Shock, Improved Shield Bash, and the like, all of which are on short cooldowns and can be spammed accordingly (drain-tanking Warlocks know that all too well). And while this created more of a nuisance than a real problem, I often felt that the mechanics were a bit slanted.

With all of the nerfs that have been applied to the duration and return of CCs such as Fear and Polymorph, I often wondered why Silence and Interrupt effects weren't thrown into the mix. They are a form of control themselves, after all, so it makes complete sense that they are given the nerfed PvP treatment, no matter what some have to say. So it's good to see it finally happen.

In actual play, the changes are noticeable, at least when giving them an extreme amount of attention. In 5v5 Arena, keeping the healers in check proved to be a bit more difficult and doing it well and effectively emphasized coordination and planning between different types of CC. In other situations, the changes were still obvious, but a little less pronounced.

One thing is for sure: in PvP play, finesse is becoming more and more important than than basic brute force (unless you have a Warrior, like Kalgan does). Given the list of changes over the past many patches, it's a safe bet that this is the case, that the trend will continue, and that players will just have to adapt to the new "style" if they are to remain successful.

It'll definitely be interesting to see how these changes sum up and affect the Arena scheme of things, and PvP in 2.3 in general.

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WotLK: The Clown Suit Returneth

I always found the Plagueheart Raiment to be one of the most interesting looking armor sets in the World of Warcraft. I would often joke upon seeing a T3-raiding 'lock that the circus must be in town, because even while others were seeing the Sand People from the Star Wars series, I was seeing Bozo the Clown. The Voidheart and Corruptor sets did well in making right the look of the raiding Warlock, but in an unfortunate twist of fate, it looks like we'll be getting a reminder of just how bad we once looked when Naxx is refreshed in the Wrath of the Lich King.

Blizzard Blue Bornakk has stated that Bliz intends to use the same Naxx armor models for the new version of the instance. So whether we Warlocks like it or not, our clown suit will be playing a major role in our raiding habits come Level 80. I can't say I'm thrilled about the decision, especially given the fact that I believe our T6 Raiment was a step in the wrong direction, but it is what it is. And I'm sure the updates stats will make-up for the gear's visual shortcomings.

I guess I just need to be a bit less metro about it, is all. =)

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PTR: Gassy Nether Drakes

I don't know what Bliz has been feeding their Nether Drake mounts on the PTR, but whatever is on the menu, I wouldn't recommend eating it. The epic mounts are now emitting a plume of gas during flight. A small graphical tweak, but a tweak none-the-less.

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PTR: Mad Alchemist's Potion Fixed, Can Buff Twice

So it turns out that the Mad Alchemist's Potion was bugged after all, and that the recent patch to the PTR took care of the issue. Upon logging in and downing the 4 potions I had on me, I received 4 consecutive and different buffs, having to had canceled the previous one, of course.


I also looked into answering a question I had upon first hearing of this potion. The description always stated that it would not replace an existing elixir if one was active. However, I wondered if this was Guardian and Battle Elixir specific. After taking two pots back-to-back without canceling the first buff, that does indeed appear to be the case.


The question now becomes whether or not the pots will always apply a complimenting buff if the player already has a single elixir active. For example, if I had an Adept's Elixir (a Battle Elixir) active and I consumed a Mad Alchemist's Potion, would it only try to apply a Guardian Elixir when it procced? Or would it try to apply both types and have a greater chance at failing as a result?

After a bit of testing, it seems that the Mad Alchemist's Potion DOES recognize Elixir types, and tries to apply it's compliment as a result. In six of seven attempts where an Elixir was already active, the potion applied the compliment. So, one can argue that the potion does indeed recognize elixir buffs that are already active on the player and automatically attempts to apply the other elixir class. However, given that there were only seven trials, the observations could very well have been due to chance, and should be taken with a grain of salt. We'd need to complete many more attempts before we can come to any real conclusion on the matter.

Still, given this limitation, today's fix to the proc-rate of the potion itself brings it up to the level it should be. WAI, this is definitely a worthy pot all Alchemists should consider.

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PTR: Mad Alchemist's Potion Effects

After a tip from Jesyka, I found myself looking at a pic posted over at World of Raids, which highlights some of the Mad Alchemist's Potion's side-effects. From what the info detailed, the 1-hr elixir buffs occur at a 95% proc rate (wth?) and are class-dependent, and since the OP was a Rogue, all of his buffs were melee-based elixirs, as in the image below.


What's most interesting to me is the 95% proc rate, a number that seems very high, and which seems to contradict information available on other websites and my own testing, where I consumed 20 Mad Alchemists Potions on my Warlock and have yet to receive a single buff. The following image is from MMO-Champion, and also depicts a higher proc-rate than from what I experienced only a few days ago.


Perhaps it was tweaked in the recent PTR update, or maybe I just have terrible luck. Who knows. But in any case, there are definitely some questions that still remain, and so it's back to more testing for me. Hopefully I'll have a list of caster buffs for you to drool over very soon. =)

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Song of the Week

Yep, even after scouring through a bunch of titles, this week's SotW is another from Flyleaf. Hey, it's not my fault they bring it. ;) Here's All Around Me. Enjoy.

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PTR: Mad Alchemist's Potion (Update)

Sometimes, pictures work just as well as words, and since I'm feeling a bit lazy today, I'll use them instead of having to put thought into type. So here are a few pictures of the Mad Alchemist's Potion in action on the PTR. Enjoy. =)





Notice the actual description of it's use? The potion only gives a chance of a side-effect buff, not applying one with every single use. Given what Drysc had to say earlier, this is incredibly disappointing, because it sounded like the potion would proc an elixir buff every time. Instead, we are left to wonder not only what buff it will proc, but whether or not one will be applied at all. And after a bit of testing, the proc rate seems to be low, on the order of 1 out of every 10 uses or less (not a single one out of ten procced for me during testing).

Now keep in mind, all of this testing was done on the PTR and and may not be working as intended. But as things stand now, this is definitely not the buff to Alchemy I once thought it to be. Hopefully things will be tweaked for the better once 2.3 goes Live, but in the meantime, we'll just have to wait and see.

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