My guess is in late september/oktober due to a new pvp-season have just begun, and the average length of thoose have been stated to be around 25 weeks, and there still have been no word out on Beta.
blergh, I hope it isn't THAT long, just yak!
If I had to guess, I guess....around.......November or December.
Just a gut feeling.
They can shorten the pvp season, but your right Demi
I recon end of nov beginning dec...
They have lost lots but they will know the expac will bring loads of people back... What better time than December... Xmas time... They will sell loads as presents and people generally have the time off to play
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk and technology
Let's see, to keep people from a mass-exodus they'll need to bring about the Beta relatively soon. I'm guessing it'll be out somewhere around the time that Elder Scrolls Online is released. Then they can have 2 months of Beta for the hardcore crowd before they start beheading random Blizzard employees for having made another ICC mistake. After all, Patch 5.4 will be 6 months old this tuesday and I just don't see them being able to pull off more than 9 months of the same Raid.
So I'm guessing late May as the earliest, early July as the latest.
http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/ (http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/)
so you can pre-order now....
2 statements....
Fall 2014....so from September/October but will be guaranteed by 20/12 !!
So Sept - Dec then
http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/blog/13184836/ (http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/blog/13184836/)
QuoteWarlords of Draenor (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/warlords) launches worldwide this fall, and you can prepare for the coming invasion now by immediately* boosting a character to level 90 with your pre-purchase of the expansion digitally (https://us.battle.net/shop/en/product/world-of-warcraft-warlords-of-draenor?utm_source=internal-WoWsite&utm_medium=blog-posting&utm_campaign=WoWx6-presales&utm_content=03-10-2014).
So we are looking at September onward for the release .... A looooong way off :doh:
Right, Alpha-testing is going on atm.
Seen a bunch of new items added on mmo champ for the Halloween event .... I think its fair to say they are looking to be live before october
Quote from: JonnyAppleSeed;386443Seen a bunch of new items added on mmo champ for the Halloween event .... I think its fair to say they are looking to be live before october
I have a pal who is lucky enough to win a beta key. Says its good yet easy....could you imagine a 10 lvl grind at pandaria's lvl when it first went live..
In regards to the Halloween event.... they always tie something up just to keep people hooked....troll incursion, reclaiming gnomehell...
I think they are gona have a "feat of strength" event again but still believe it will be Nov/dec
How's it hanging? Anything going on in the dying months of pandaria? Feeling a strong urge to return, but would love if some raiding of any kind was going on:-)
When we get a date for the expansion we will be looking to forming a raid team
I`m in the alpha
Testing is discovering new and fascinating bugs- like walking through a door, then falling through the floor of Auchindoon.. fun! There are some issues- like the insanly long spawn timers on key quest items/ mobs, but this will be addressed- we hope! The flight master mini maps have a major issues with their graphic overlay- basically you have to ride out of your garrisons to get to a lot of places- they know about this, and its on the list of top priorities
Dungeons + scaling
The lvl 100 instances DO require some CC, although not as heavy as BC was.
That said, if the tank pulls too many mobs (typical 4+) then you looking to either oom the healer, or kill the entire party.:ranting2:
I have done all the dungeons to date, with Auchindoon by far the hardest- the void walker fight is a lot of RNG with the shadow orbs of instant death, although we managed to figure out what to do after a few pulls- great fight, TON of movement required, making the fight longer (no more move + casting anymore), unless you are using instants.
Thoughts so far
It looks and plays Damn good
The scaling system seems to work well - imagine your a lvl 90 char, and enter a lvl 100 dungeon(its the test realms) you get boosted to lvl 100- stats, ap, sp, etc etc and get to use your lvl 100 talent- cool beans.
Game play dungeon difficulty wise- lvl 90-100 normals varies- with the slag pit being the easiest, then UBRS- but dont think your going to roll over it- it will require some smart play (cc + interrupt or die), but its common sense to any experienced WoW veteran.
The arrakota instance is a bit tough, it requires decent co-ordination for the party to kill some of the bosses, the flame bird is tough- the path up after it is a bit like the bridge in ToT, tough going but fun fights. Also there are some akward LOS issues with the pulls, be prepared to go flying (you have no wings)- and die.
Auchindoon, omg, this place is a nightmare, more so when your dressed in greens and blues, liberal use of CC required (although most dungeons req you to play smart), the boss fights are tough, damn tough some of them, but i suspect its a gear rating thing. That said, i do not think you can gain a great advantage until your into tier 16 items, and then you may be able to op the dungeon.
DPS
This is massively scaled down, most classes are typically doing 9-10k dps, i`m using my Ele shammy atm, and the new mastery proc is awesome, locks, mages and sprierst seem pretty stable too, and all competitive. Warriors and paladins are a bit unknown, as they are still trying to finalise their- balance, but they are still doing decent dps, and are not far behind caster at all. Although i would say that this expansion favours casters (again) simply due to the mechanics, and masses of AOE damage many of the fights have, this may be trimmed down, but at the moment, it "feels ok", although i do feel for the melee classes atm.
Healing
Well all the healers have had massive changes!
Healing is roughly back to the BC levels of play, requiring "some thought" as to what to heal with- fast mana burn, or slow mana regen spells.
ALL mana regen mechanics are GONE- no mana tide, innervate, prayer- so beware.
Basically a huge chunk of responsibility is on your tank, if they decide to run off into the wilderness, and gather several mobs- stand still and just wait a few seconds, they WILL die fast- more so with some of the mobs (Stonefist is insta kill for most classes!). Teach them the hard way- play smart or play dead, your choice.
We have experienced most healing classes, paladins, disc priest and shamans seem pretty solid, Rdruids are doing good, but holy priests seems to missing something, lots of complaining about it- we have not run with a Rmonk, so far.
Overall verdict
It looks to be a bloody great expansion!
The garrison system is fun (yes it really is) and is also a time sink (thus giving the game more life), and for the achievers- there are a LOT of followers to collect!
Dungeons fights seem pretty well balanced, although "some tuning" is required for Auchindoon- its either role over easy, or kick your ass hard- hmm. Still bloody good fun, and masses of AOE mechanics to deal with, also there are some zero threat mechanics to deal with... ... yea they are a pain!
Movement
Its move or prepare to die- as the healer WILL NOT be able to bring you back to full life quickly- we are talking 4+ spells for that, as the life pools are higher than the healing max, basically get used to running about in the fight at 50% life or less, and dont freak out because your not at 100% life. So be prepared to use bandages (yes i know!) and health potions!:blink:
We are waiting for the raid schedule to open up, and eagerly awaiting to run in to our deaths!
Thus far, i would rate it a very strong 9/10 - they have ticked a lot of boxes, and made things "like they used to be", as in you have to be able to play, rather than stand still and mash the keyboard- there is a hell of lot more moving to be done, some of the fights are a pain to deal with- more so as a healer, as players doing the wrong thing at the wrong time either kill themselves or burn your precious blue mana bar trying to keep them alive!:ranting2:
See you in Draenor
Cool review Amber ... You have pepped up my interest on the healing side :norty:
No problem Jas
The healing IS a bit daunting to begin with, but have a half decent tank, and dps who know how to use their CC button, and it`ll be fairly smooth.
But like i said in my review, some of the boss fights are bloody scary! Soo much movement, do this, stand there, do that, the skill level bar has been raised a fair bit, but i suspect once players get geared, then it will be smoother.
That said, some of the trash packs are insane if you fail to control them, evil ogre caster in the Slagmines, have a 1 shot spell called Stone fist- it`ll hit you for your life + 70k, meaning either silence, interrupt/stun of take a bit smack in the face. Of course treat is, if the healer gets decked- its all fun and games :P.
The imp packs in Auchindoon are fun, they run about, with zero threat, and if they get near you- well they set you on fire & disorientate you, of course they patrol in pack, and there`s also the humanoids who cross patrol, so you need to be aware of their patrol paths...
But the dungeons are damn good fun- UBRS is changed, and is still slightly too long to make it comfortable, but the fights are fun.
But like i said in my review- Blizzard have made loads of fights with tons of AOE mechanics- make sure you have some form of speed boost ability- I have +60% move rate in ghost wolf.
I`ve just managed to upgrade my garrison today (was bugged) and there quests, and more missions for your followers (meaning you get mats to upgrade + produce stuff), exactly how big a part of the game the garrisons will play, we do not know yet. But the general feeling is, that you will need to invest "some time" to make it worth while as a player.
Dungeon list so far
Auchindoun- an intact version of the dranai, it looks a lot like the Mechinar (remember that place) and is pretty cool
Slagmines- looks like its inside Blackrock mountain, big fat ogres, slaves and LOTS of fire (FUN FUN FUN)
Grim Rail Dept A unique dungeon- you on a moving train (yes you can fall / be knocked off- BEWARE) tightly packed spaces, mixed mobs, requiring thought and liberal CC to manage- also quick reaction to not be killed by the boss mechanics- tough and fun.
Irondocks Not implemented - yet, although i think i stumbled across the location while out exploring- basically far north of nether storm- and no, it looks completely different- nearly all of the content does- not been to nagrand yet- 98+
Shadowmoon Burial Grounds I am in awe of this place, damn hard, much needed CC, and interrupts to control the fight- get it wrong, your dead pretty fast, Love it- the boss fights are insane, and tough, rewarding to succeed- a lot like the shadow lads of BC- hard and fun, not yet fully competed, due to several server restarts, will attempt today.
Skyreach A short vertical dungeon, yes, thats correct, vertical... you have to fight your way up the arrakota spire. Hard LOS pulls, and punishing of you mess it up :ranting2: The wind bridge of death is also fun, players without a 50%+ speed boost will struggle to get past..open eyes wide, and look for hints (no i`m not telling you haw to do it). Fun instance, tough boss fights (lvl 103)
The Everbloom No yet implemented.
UBRS Yes its been reused, and basically the same layout. Mobs are roughly similar to vanilla, melee, casters and summoners (CC req) Some fun moments when the tank gets airborn and lands in the egg room (yes knockback), last boss is great fun, and a pain if you get targeted and cornered by the flames- expect to die :devil:
Not too many spoilers, but I am enjoying it, as are a vast amount of the other players, everything seems good (except you cant port EU character atm) so i`ve had to roll a new char (start at lvl 90) some new quests were put into the blasted lands, which are pretty easy- as the item squish is not implimented in that zone, so running about at lvl 94 meant i was basically 1 shotting everything as a Elemental shaman.
Well worth the look- once its released.
Blizz kindly updated the garrison yesterday, TY
I have built a few things on the "empty plots"
Basically you have three sizes of plots, Small, Medium and of course Large
There is the obvious restriction to the amount of each type you can build in you "home garrison"
Each new "house" has benefits, buff and other abilities.
Take for instance the mine, it provides you with the ability to "mine" ore each day (even if your not a miner) and generate some money off the retail value of the ore. It also allows you to refine the "draenite mineral", which is basically a new in game coin, as to what it is used for remains unknown, except i need 25 of the stuff- it has a chance to proc when you dig in your mine.
Other things like the tannery, Jc booth, Alchemy lab, etc enable you to "produce work orders", this in effect allows an additional use of your daily ability for your crafts. I`m a LW so i can make an additional hide per day, handy! Upgrade it, and you get to make 2, and it gets better! At level 3 you can have upto +5 work orders, thus enabling you to make 6 items per day- awesome news for crafters!
Like i initially stated, i suspected that the garrisons would play a fairly big role in the game, and it looks like they are going to be great fun!
More news on garrison here http://wowpedia.org/Garrison
There are loads of other buildings, that all give good stuff, but i think most will opt for a war mill, as this gives an increase chance of item proc from quest rewards..
What this means is, do a quest and get a green reward item(chest, neck, etc etc) and it has a x% chance to upgrade to a blue item!
Get a blue reward item, and it has a x% chance to upgrade to a EPIC
Which means people will do more quest in order to get blues, epics - cool idea, and yes it works!
So far loads of people have got blues, and epics from each zone, making dungeons and overall questing easier.
Cool bugs
The shadowmoon burial grounds is still a over tuned with the demon (3rd boss) still ridiculously over tuned, and spewing out far too much aoe damage for healers to cope with (aka we all died quickly)
I completed Auchindoun the other day- cool instance, with some very flame land like boss mechanics, however it is still a little bugged as the 3rd boss summons "worms" and instead we got a load of lvl 103 elite spiders.. hmm not exactly how its supposed to be...no.
Also the root mechanic of the fight is currently broken, and players still slide to the boss during inhale... really really bad for melee classes- kinda insta kill :/
The flying bats have a patrol path issue- aka flying through the ground and surprising the party with their sudden appearance!
This and others make testing a "joy to behold"... aka we will be glad when they fix it!
Stay frosty!
Yup fully interested now in WoD ..... running through new stuff that is a challenge will be sweet :yahoo: and we can abuse ambers knowledge for the other stuff
Also im claiming a release date .... my winged monkeys have returned with news........ Oct 14th prove me wrong Blizz (Many bothans died to get this information)
Quote from: JonnyAppleSeed;386816Yup fully interested now in WoD ..... running through new stuff that is a challenge will be sweet :yahoo: and we can abuse ambers knowledge for the other stuff
Also im claiming a release date .... my winged monkeys have returned with news........ Oct 14th prove me wrong Blizz (Many bothans died to get this information)
I'll have a pint on it Jas that it wont be out then....
I can buy you that pint at the LAN :)
err what I meant was you can buy me that pint :P
Ill enjoy that pint as I lvl up at the lan :beer:
Quote from: JonnyAppleSeed;386859Ill enjoy that pint as I lvl up at the lan :beer:
You better get signed up to it then mate :D
Quote from: JonnyAppleSeed;386859Ill enjoy that pint as I lvl up at the lan :beer:
That sounds like a good plan !
Quote from: BrotherTobious;386869You better get signed up to it then mate :D
What the boss said ^^ sign up....I have and I tried to write it really small so no-one would notice :P
:crying: Sadly i wont be at the lan, as i get back from honeymoon a few days before it, yes thats right i got married :flirty::flirty::flirty:
It`ll also mean i`ll be totally worn out from the jet lag (going to Florida for 21 days), and be totally zoned for a few days afterwards.:lightbulb::lightbulb::lightbulb:
On the wow news front
Blizz opened up a new dungeon - Everbloom a few days ago, and i managed to find 4 other fools to go along with (beta nutters FTW) level 100+ dungeon (mobs 103+)
Basically its an "outdoor" instance, which means you can use your mounts - yea repair mount:woot2:... much needed...:crying:
The openness of the dungeon means you have a choice of what to kill 1st.. there are 5 bosses, but in realality, you can skip 2 and go straight for the kill.
1st boss - left side- Pools of life- we didn't attempt, as we know it still to be bugged
1st boss Right- Verdant grove
Three ancient protectors
Basically a Evil melee, Healer, and a (dps) Buffer and they share the same hp pool.
Tactics- basically have your tank take on the evil melee dude (and yes it hits bloody hard- suspect to tuned down somewhat) and stick him off to the left side- this gives the party some room (you will need it).
Position the party central (it a round grove- so no corners to hide in), and nuke the life out of the healer, interrupt its casts- or it will HEAL ALL OF THEM for 10% life(yes it spams this spell) and also cast a rapid regen spell- improves regen by +xx% amount (really bad if it gets cast).
Just go all out on the healer, and watch for the evil melee one running out to smack you in the face- basically it drops aggro off the tank, runs out and beats you to death- usually 3-4 hits and you pushing up daisies.. yes it HURTS!:ranting2:
Stick to the plan, nuke, nuke nuke, and interpret = win
PS, dispel / purge buffs on the melee + healer- we ignored the buffer completly
Boss 2 Xer`tacs grove
This boss is very reminiscent of the spider room in Ice crown (you know the one before Cindagosa), crossed with the spider boss from the flame lands (party up / party down)
The boss itself is a big spider (Nerubian in looks) with adds in the mix.
Adds are hard mobs, that need to be taken care of (aoe + DD) consiting of melee spiders, spitter spiders and a PALE - think of the pale as something out of the Descent(the film) wow lore says its a orc, thats.. well not green, its white, and looks like a ghoul.. not a bad description.
http://images.popmatters.com/film_art/d/the-descent-20051.jpg (http://images.popmatters.com/film_art/d/the-descent-20051.jpg)
The Pale must die ASAP- or the boss eats it- om nom nom, and heals itself for 25% hp- yes thats a HUGE chunk of hp, bare in mind that you nave NO MANA REGEN MECHANICS
We had a monk tank, monk healer (breathing on mana fumes) my ele shammy, a lock and a warrior. Vgood mix.
we all stood on the "bone island" and waited for the mobs to spawn (rush more like) with the tank in front, facing the "door" (aka cave entrance)
We mixed up the aoe+ direct damage on the mobs to break them down somewhat, then aoe nuked them off at <50%, During which time the Pale spawns- MARK IT, KILL IT!
Healing note- there is MASSES of party damage, and you will run out of mana quick if you start "quick heals", use some aoe+ smart heals to get through, that said it took us 5 attempts to deck it! Awesome fight, great fun, some moving to avoid the acid spit, many many adds, and the pale is an elite- currently!
3rd (4th) boss The Violet Bluff
A single lone female page stands in your way.. easy.. hmm kind of..
She has three schools of magic - fire, ice, arcane - we suspect it is random at what she starts at (we 1 shotted her) but the others in the party said that she started with ice/ arc before- and kicked their asses.
Her rotation is 3 "hard casts" (none interruptible) with the rest being able to be stopped- NOTE the longer she is allowed to cast spell from that school of magic, the harder it hits, and the spell will gain other abilities - Fire ball becomes an aoe- then a aoe with a pulsing aoe effect- an aoe that then stays on the ground so long as she is casting "fire". We allowed here to go to "7 stacks" before stopping her with fire.
Our view is that fire is the weakest, with frost being a pain in the ass (snare/ freeze) and arcane the deadliest- damage ramps up quick.
I think after 3 or more interrupts she will change school of magic, and rotate accordingly - Fire- Ice- Arcane
Last boss
This fight was a great deal of fun, as none of us had done it before- NOOBS FTW!
Note The fight starts as soon as someone steps through the portal! So make sure you all ready- and mounted up- seconds count!
Think of the area as a cul-de-sac and your there- a ==0 shape.
Boss runs in and starts attacking the Kirintor? mages - you need to keep these alive- you need their dps!
Its a fairly straight forward fight, but you need to be situationally aware of the boss mechanics (sorry melee you going to get hurt)
Its a tank and spank fight initially, until his hp/ time elapsed
Abilities
Shockwave- this hits hard(aka it 1 shotted the warrior dps) and stuns you- closer you are = more damage + longer stun- PAY ATTENTION as it will turn to face a random member and BOOM!
Tangle He will "root" one of the npc mages - kill the root- free the mage- dps boss, and aoe adds- repeat many times.
Singularity ~i think- something like that - Basically he will "channel a spell for 15 secs".
NOTE At the start of this spell he will throw out spores (they look like flowers on the floor)- make sure everyone runs over them- STOP DPS to do this as once he has finished the "cast" every spore still alive spawns into an add, this will be along with 3-4 other adds that you cant stop him summoning!
This means you have the potential to have the BOSS+ 3-4 or 18-19 adds, if you fluff it up!
This means you need to keep the npc mages alive (yes you can heal them) keep the tangle off them, avoid the shock wave, pew pew boss, stomp the flowers or get ZERG RUSHED BY THE ADDS!
Overall i found this to be a challenging dungeon, and really enjoyed it- note we are in testing, so many changes can be made- also we were "Buffed" up to item level 600 in each slot (meaning epics lose 40 levels as they are 640 i level), but also means your 500 itel level becomes a 600... the scaling on this works great- and makes the MC event look to be great fun!
Quote from: Amberleigh;386979:crying: Sadly i wont be at the lan, as i get back from honeymoon a few days before it, yes thats right i got married :flirty::flirty::flirty:
It`ll also mean i`ll be totally worn out from the jet lag (going to Florida for 21 days), and be totally zoned for a few days afterwards.:lightbulb::lightbulb::lightbulb:
We all Due respect my dear friend I also will be arriving back from across the pond, a few days and have also arranging a night out in the big smoke as well, so dont come on the thursday sleep, come on the Friday and have some fun. :) Would be great to see you mate :)
Quote from: Amberleigh;386979:crying: Sadly i wont be at the lan, as i get back from honeymoon a few days before it, yes thats right i got married :flirty::flirty::flirty:
Many congratulations to you both! :cheers::dmw:
Dont I look the asshole..... speed reading is not a good thing. I applogise for missing that very important details
Congratualtions guys wish you all the best for your new future together :)
No worries Toby, we know what you are like :P
And thanks to all who have said Grats!
Have fun at the Lan, as we`ll not be able to make it- remember to keep switch chained up... you all know what happened last time!
The cinematic for warlords of draenor is now out and with it comes a release date!
Remember to watch to the very end for the release date!
[video=youtube;TLzhlsEFcVQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLzhlsEFcVQ[/video]
Oi Amber !
:taz:
So Jas that's a pint you owe me :)
One thing blizzards fmv are great OK not playing the game anymore and do tease a little but fair play to the fmv team always a treat
That trailer was so nice, they convinced me to buy it :$
I had already bought it but November is later than I'd hoped. Glad I've saved some holidays for later in the year :-)
Quote from: Switchback;386617In regards to the Halloween event.... they always tie something up just to keep people hooked....troll incursion, reclaiming gnomehell...
I think they are gona have a "feat of strength" event again but still believe it will be Nov/dec
There you go Jas... :P
IMHO I thought the cinematic was quite poor compared to others.
Its a fix Switch
I must say i'm really disappointed its out so late... £8 a month and no new content for a year. Damm im grumpy today:ranting2:
Yeah yeah jas :p
Aye it crap IMO. They released everything in panda land too early... As for the Halloween event as I say that's gona be some event you can do just for an achieve.
Gona make a post shortly to see who is gona raid and such as we've lost quite a few and think we'll need to fill some roles.
Aye go for it....Now we have a date we can start the "Master Plan" (as soon as we think one up)
May a draw my learned friends to this comment
Quotemy winged monkeys have returned with news........ Oct 14th prove me wrong Blizz (Many bothans died to get this information)
/smug mode on
New pre patch content to be released OCT 14th. Mines a Golden Ale Switch :yahoo:
OMG! Pixies at the LAN! Looking forward to seeing it :thumbsup:
Quote from: TeaLeaf;389110OMG! Pixies at the LAN!
As long as they do a timed lap, who cares what they are. :flirty:
For those of you who haven't seem them yet here is the patch notes for the new patch: http://blue.mmo-champion.com/topic/344334-the-iron-tide-602-patch-notes/ and another tip is NOT to update any addons if your playing today cause the patch is out in the US already and most addons will already have a small update so they will work with the new patch and not the old so if you update today your in for a world of hurt.