New round of blues! From the Sands Pass to the Paladin Changes in 4.2 and the Midsummer Fire Festival.
In addition, I take the opportunity to indicate that Summer Solstice Guide It has been updated with all the locations of the bonfires. Thanks to all of you who have sent us coordinates through the comments and emails!
The festivities have begun and the citizens of Azeroth and Outland celebrate the warmest of seasons by playing with fire across these worlds! No matter how much experience you have or what the level of your characters is, we advise you not to miss this event, as it is one of the most rewarding festive celebrations of the year. It's also one of the busiest PvP events, so don your gladiator gear and prepare to desecrate or protect the Midsummer fires.
As in most of the designated dates, we recommend that you go through a capital to start with the main missions of the event, among others, the always fun torch throwing challenges. While you stay in each of the capitals, keep an eye out for the presence of enemy players; stealing flames from bonfires in capital cities is a necessary step to get the most out of this unique event of the year.
At the end, you will receive burning flowers for your participation in these events; is a special holiday currency that you can use to purchase various items and pets sold by Midsummer merchants and vendors.
New or leveling players
If you have not yet reached the maximum level, you will be interested in going through the bonfires located near most of the towns and cities. If you honor friendly bonfires, or desecrate those of the enemy faction, you will be awarded a great deal of experience and gold. Make sure to use a Burning Flower while next to a bonfire to receive an hour-long critical strike buff, which will increase the damage you deal during missions. If you extinguish or relight a bonfire, you will also be granted a zone buff, giving all players a bonus Fire damage proc.
If you dance around the ribbon pole at the location of one of the friendly bonfires, you will be awarded a 10% bonus for experience lasting up to an hour (spin longer to increase the duration of the buff). Make sure you go through as many bonfires as you can to honor or desecrate each one, and keep the 10% bonus active to level up even faster.
We warn you that by desecrating enemy bonfires, you'll be crying out for PvP, even if you're playing on a PvE server!
Level One
Frost Lord Ahune makes his appearance during the Midsummer Fire Festival, and max-level characters can use the Dungeon Finder to queue up for a chance to take down this festive boss. Speak to Numa Cloudburst when you are inside the room to begin your quest to summon and defeat Ahune. If you are successful, it will drop one of the five layers of level 353 (ice lined cape, shroud of cold winter, Frostlord's Warcloak, Frostlord's Battleshroud, cloak of the icy winds) and, on rare occasions, the unique weapon enchantment formula lethal frost for enchanters. Players will also receive a cold goods portfolio for his first win against Ahune of each day. These wallets contain points of justice, with a very small probability, Lord Ahune's Frost Scythe, and, with an even lower probability, a ice elemental meek pet. Although each person can only receive one bag of cold goods per day, a group of five characters can summon and defeat Ahune five times in the same room if each of them uses their quest item to summon him.
After the jump you have the rest of the news commented. Do not miss them!
Explanation of the changes to the Holy Paladin in 4.2
Here are the developers' thoughts on various issues related to the Holy Paladin covered in this and related threads:
Manna: We still think the 4.2 changes are necessary. Many of you disagree. We're not sure we can resolve this disagreement without all of us (players and developers) sitting around a table discussing a lot of band analysis; something that is certainly not very realistic. We don't want to completely settle the conversation, but at the same time, this is a topic we've spent a lot of time on internally, and we still like the changes in 4.2. If you are right and we have exaggerated in the compensation, we will admit our mistake and make the appropriate changes. Although we do not believe this will happen. We believe that Holy Paladins will continue to be excellent healers.
Signal of the Light: We would like most of the time to be used for healing targets not directly affected by the signal (i.e., use the transfer). However, sometimes that 50% healing transfer is not enough and you have to directly heal the target of the signal. True, it is less effective, but there is no point in worrying about effectiveness if your tank is dead (if you sometimes fail to heal the target from the signal directly without running into serious mana problems, you may need better equipment, suitable for what you are trying to do). Tower of Radiance was designed as a consolation prize for healing the target of the signal. It was a better talent when it affected Holy Light, but unfortunately, they were so good that the default behavior ended up focusing only on healing the target of the signal. Nor is that what we want.
Morning light: Like many area of effect spells, Light of Dawn does not readjust well from 5-player dungeons (or even 3-player arena teams) to 25-player raids. In the future, the solution may be to have spells reset automatically based on party size, but in the meantime, we've made changes to 4.2 so players in larger raids use Word of Glory. something more often. Dawn Light will continue to be used a lot on the big bands, and that's fine with us.
Sacred Radiance: This spell has not had the results we expected. The initial design was that the paladin would heal targets around them, perhaps using the Light Speed boost to access grouped and injured targets, or even occasionally attempt a melee heal. We resolved initial usage issues by repeatedly improving healing, especially range, and that made the paladin's position within the party now almost irrelevant. But since it still retains its instant cast, Holy Radiance doesn't provide much gameplay interest. It probably works best as a spell with a cast time and no cooldown, so you can choose to use this spell or a single target heal, just as the shaman chooses Chain Heal when appropriate. Ultimately this could allow paladins to feel like they can dedicate themselves to area-of-effect healing. It would be a big design change, but it is something we are considering.
Questions and answers about the War Games
Last december we presenta new feature in World of Warcraft called War Games. This feature was intended to give players the opportunity to face off in epic battles for fun and glory. Arena and battleground teams could meet, choose the battlefield, hone their skills together, find out who the king (or queen) of the mambo is, and score a pair of goals. Despite being an exciting feature, starting a war game was not as easy and accessible as we would have liked. To resolve this issue, patch 4.2 adds a new interface option within the PvP (H) tab that makes it easier than ever to summon friends or enemies for a showdown.
To answer your burning questions, we've updated the following frequently asked questions:
Q: What is a war game?
A: A war game is an unscored game in which one group of players challenges another to a skirmish on the arena or battlefield in an environment of their choice. To start a war game, the party leader must open the PvP window (H), as explained below.
Q: How does it work?
A: After you have formed a party (depending on your chosen arena or battlefield, a certain minimum number of members will be required), open the PvP (H) window and select the War Games tab. To start a war game you will have to be the leader of the group; Select a battlefield or arena, mark the leader of the opposing team, and click the Start Wargame button.
The leader of the other group will receive a pop-up with the message: »
The challenged group leader will then have just over a minute to accept the challenge. When you've accepted, both groups will queue up, and when the skirmish is ready, a pop-up will invite them in.
Q: Can I play War Games skirmishes against members of my own faction?
A: Yes! The War Games skirmish system allows you to challenge players of the same faction to clashes in arenas and battlefields. You can also challenge the opposing faction.
Q: What arenas and battlegrounds can I play on?
A: Players can choose the following battlegrounds and arenas from the drop-down menu:
Battlefields
10v10 (Minimum 5v5):
- Warsong Gorge
- Twin Summits
- The Battle for Gilneas
- (Rated) Eye of the Storm
- Eye of the Storm
15v15 (Minimum 8v8):
- Arathi Basin
- Eye of the Storm
- Beach of the Ancestors
40v40 (Minimum 10v10):
- Alterac Valley
- Conquest Island
- Random Battlefield
Arenas (2v2, 3v3, 5v5, 2v2 minimum)
- Nagrand Arena
- Blade's Edge Mountains Arena
- Ruins of Lordaeron
- Dalaran Sewers
- Ring of Valor
- All Sands
Q: Can I challenge a team from another realm to a skirmish?
A: No, you can only challenge opponents from your own kingdom.
Q: Can I start a match if one team has fewer party members than the other?
A: You can create a Battlefield War Game with different sizes, but you cannot create an Arena War Game with unbalanced teams. For example, an 8v5 Warsong Gulch is possible, but attempting to start an Arena Wargame will not work with teams of different sizes.
Q: What is the largest size that a War Game can hold?
A: Arena War Games can withstand up to 5v5 matches. The size of the Battlefield War Games is limited to the maximum number of participants that each map normally allows.
Q: Are there any recorded stats for Wargame skirmishes?
A: No, they work in a similar way to the old Arena skirmish system. At the end of the showdown, kills, damage, and healing are displayed, but not wins and losses.
Q: How long does it take to start a war game?
A: Once the challenge has been accepted, it will generally progress through the queue in less than 30 seconds. War Games offer a quick way to get into practice matches with other teams, test potential recruits, or just have fun with your friends.
Q: Can I receive achievements or guild experience in a War Game?
A: Since you can choose who you play against, nothing is rewarded in these skirmishes, except for the adrenaline rush when you get that hard-fought victory.
Q: Do I get honor for killing players in a Battlefield War Game?
A: No. These are skirmish engagements, so no honor is awarded for targets or kills.
Q: Why did you add this feature?
A: Players have long asked for a way to skirmish specific teams, guild members, friends, and rivals in arenas and battlefields of their choice. We hope you enjoy this new feature, and we can't wait to see you on the battlefield!
Phase 2 of the Arena Pass Scored Hierarchy has begun
Registration for the World of Warcraft Arena Pass 2011 has now closed and Phase 2 of the Scored Hierarchy has begun. Participants have been battling in the arena pass realm for the past two weeks while polishing their team composition and strategies. Now the teams have locked down, the tactics have been decided, and it's time to get serious!
Let us give you a little reminder of the details of this phase:
- Equipment blocking.
- Scored 3v3 games played during this phase will count towards the title and mascot.
Please don't forget to check the frequently asked questions of the 2011 Arena Pass for more information on award eligibility. For information on the different phases of the Arena Pass, take a look at our article dedicated on the blog.
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