Cataclysm news

[DFE]

guys, just ij case you missed it, there is new detailed (sort of) info on one of the new zones that come with Cataclysm

[SPOILER=link to info]
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/features/hyjal.html
[/SPOILER]

[Luminance]

looks nice

[DFE]

another new zone info

[SPOILER=new zone info link]
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/features/vashjir.html
[/SPOILER]

[Knabbel]

Say hello to pally rape....gsus..... beacon of light twice the mana instead twice the healing because it was mend to avoid the global cooldown..also..flash of light consumes more mana...and what do we have for johnny............ a giant heal....like a tank from 1% till 100%. Yhea right .... like you can have a tank for like 5s on 1% health.
 
Time to start leveling my shammy...:crying:

[Padding]

Yeah, we'll see how it fans out but its definately pally nerf

[Luminance]

Yeah, we'll see how it fans out but its definately pally nerf

Even more reason to play cataclysm :devil:

We shamans like to see Paladins suffer, for no apparent reason :norty:

[Padding]

L2heal :narnar:

[Nefertem]

Even more reason to play cataclysm :devil:

We shamans like to see Paladins suffer, for no apparent reason :norty:

qft

[Knabbel]

We shamans like to see Paladins suffer, for no apparent reason :norty:

If you can't beat them ..join them take over and break'em.....

[DFE]

[SPOILER=whole lot of info on cataclysm]
whaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!


new kobold model - "You no take volcano!"  :roflmao:

new kobold model - "You no nothing!!!"

new icons


[/SPOILER]

[DFE]

a subject to change, of course. Enjoy tooltips of new hunter spells
[SPOILER=new hunter abilities]

Camouflage
Instant
You camouflage, causing you and your Pet to blend into your surroundings. After 6 sec., you will enter a stealthed state. While stealthed, you and your pet's movement speed is reduced by 30%, but the damage done by your next attack is increased by 30%.
You can lay traps while under the effect, but any damage done by you or your pet will cancel the effect. Cannot be cast while in combat.


Cobra Shot
5-35 yd range
1.5 sec cast
Requires Ranged Weapon
Deals unmodified weapon damage plus RAP*0.1+951 in the form of Nature damage and increases the duration of your Serpent Sting on the target by 176 sec. Generates 9 Focus.


Trap Launcher
1 min cooldown
0.5 sec cast
When used, your next Trap can be shot to a target location within 40 yards.

Breakdown:
Camouflage
Increased 30% damage with next attack? Nice. For MM  it will be autoshot, for SV probably first tick of Explosive shot and BM? Either autoshot (if first shot will be Serpent sting) or Cobra Strike. LArger DPS gain will be from the possibility to lay Explosive trap before the fight, though. What I dont get is why you get into stealthed state after 6 seconds of an instant cast...

Cobra Shot
When compared to Steady, it has the same AP coefficient but deals a bit more additional damage (most probably only scaling issue. Tooltip value is probably for lvl 85 while Steady rank 4 has it for level 80). Interesting is that it increses duration of Serpent Sting by ridiculous amount. While the ability is a placeholder obviously, the idea is interesting, too. Basically it means tat the only spec that will need to refresh Serpent sting manually (given no damage modifier procs)  will be SV

Trap launcher
Pretty cool PvE ability if you ask me. Not only it will reduce the need to run if you want to lay trap (thus increasing DPS) but it will directly increase your DPS with shooting your explosive trap.  Cooldown of 1 minute will be probably decreased by SV talent.
However, what I dont like is that 0.5 cast. That means it will not be possible to macro it to a trap of your selection  Questions are: Will the selected trap trigger GCD  as it does today? Will this spell itself trigger a GCD, too?
[/SPOILER]

[DFE]

check this out, quite interesting numbers. And by the looks of it, it will be REALLY easy to balance the damage outcome of different specs in Cataclysm

WHU article

[valdeko]

Talent tree overall change "might be happening"

When we first announced our design goals for class talent trees back at  BlizzCon 2009, one of our major stated focuses was to remove some of the  boring and "mandatory" passive talents. We mentioned that we wanted  talent choices to feel more flavorful and fun, yet more meaningful at  the same time. Recently, we had our fansites release information on  work-in-progress talent tree previews for druids, priests, shaman, and  rogues. From those previews and via alpha test feedback, a primary  response we heard was that these trees didnââ,¬â,,¢t incorporate the original  design goals discussed at BlizzCon. This response echoes something we  have been feeling internally for some time, namely that the talent tree  system has not aged well since we first increased the level cap beyond  level 60. In an upcoming beta build, we will unveil bold overhauls of  all 30 talent trees.

Talent Tree Vision

One of the basic tenets of Blizzard game design is that of ââ,¬Å"concentrated  coolness.ââ,¬Â Weââ,¬â,,¢d rather have a simpler design with a lot of depth, than a  complicated but shallow design. The goal for Cataclysm remains to  remove a lot of the passive (or lame) talents, but we donââ,¬â,,¢t think thatââ,¬â,,¢s  possible with the current tree size. To resolve this, we're reducing  each tree to 31-point talents. With this reduction in tree size we need  to make sure they're being purchased along a similar leveling curve, and  therefore will also be reducing the number of total talent points and  the speed at which they're awarded during the leveling process.

As a result, we can keep the unique talents in each tree, particularly  those which provide new spells, abilities or mechanics. Weââ,¬â,,¢ll still have  room for extra flavorful talents and room for player customization, but  we can trim a great deal of fat from each tree. The idea isnââ,¬â,,¢t to give  players fewer choices, but to make those choices feel more meaningful.  Your rotations wonââ,¬â,,¢t change and you wonââ,¬â,,¢t lose any cool talents. What  will change are all of the filler talents you had to pick up to get to  the next fun talent, as well as most talents that required 5 of your  hard-earned points.

We are also taking a hard look at many of the mandatory PvP talents,  such as spell pushback or mechanic duration reductions. While there will  always be PvP vs. PvE builds, weââ,¬â,,¢d like for the difference to be less  extreme, so that players donââ,¬â,,¢t feel like they necessarily need to spend  their second talent specialization on a PvP build.

The Rise of Specialization

We want to focus the talent trees towards your chosen style of gameplay  right away. That first point you spend in a tree should be very  meaningful. If you choose Enhancement, we want you to feel like an  Enhancement shaman right away, not thirty talent points later. When  talent trees are unlocked at level 10, you will be asked to choose your  specialization (e.g. whether you want to be an Arms, Fury or Protection  warrior) before spending that first point. Making this choice comes with  certain benefits, including whatever passive bonuses you need to be  effective in that role, and a signature ability that used to be buried  deeper in the talent trees. These abilities and bonuses are only  available by specializing in a specific tree. Each tree awards its own  unique active ability and passives when chosen. The passive bonuses  range from flat percentage increases, like a 20% increase to Fire damage  for Fire mages or spell range increases for casters, to more  interesting passives such as the passive rage regeneration of the former  Anger Management talent for Arms warriors, Dual-Wield Specialization  for Fury warriors and Combat rogues, or the ability to dual-wield itself  for Enhancement shaman.

The initial talent tree selection unlocks active abilities that are core  to the chosen role. Our goal is to choose abilities that let the  specializations come into their own much earlier than was possible when a  specialization-defining talent had to be buried deep enough that other  talent trees couldnââ,¬â,,¢t access them. For example, having Lava Lash and  Dual-Wield right away lets an Enhancement shaman feel like an  Enhancement shaman. Other role-defining examples of abilities players  can now get for free at level 10 include Mortal Strike, Bloodthirst,  Shield Slam, Mutilate, Shadow Step, Thunderstorm, Earth Shield, Water  Elemental, and Penance.

Getting Down to the Grit

Talent trees will have around 20 unique talents instead of today's  (roughly) 30 talents, and aesthetically will look a bit more like the  original World of Warcraft talent trees. The 31-point talents will  generally be the same as the 51-point talents we already had planned for  Cataclysm. A lot of the boring or extremely specialized talents have  been removed, but we don't want to remove anything thatââ,¬â,,¢s going to  affect spell/ability rotations. We want to keep overall damage, healing,  and survivability roughly the same while providing a lot of the passive  bonuses for free based on your specialization choice.

While leveling, you will get 1 talent point about every 2 levels (41  points total at level 85). Our goal is to alternate between gaining a  new class spell or ability and gaining a talent point with each level.  As another significant change, you will not be able to put points into a  different talent tree until you have dedicated 31 talent points to your  primary specialization. While leveling, this will be possible at 70.  Picking a talent specialization should feel important. To that end, we  want to make sure new players understand the significance of reaching  the bottom of their specialization tree before gaining the option of  spending points in the other trees. We intend to make sure  dual-specialization and re-talenting function exactly as they do today  so players do not feel locked into their specialization choice.

A True Mastery

The original passive Mastery bonuses players were to receive according  to how they spent points in each tree are being replaced by the  automatic passive bonuses earned when a tree specialization is chosen.  These passives are flat percentages and we no longer intend for them to  scale with the number of talent points spent. The Mastery bonus that was  unique to each tree will now be derived from the Mastery stat, found on  high-level items, and Mastery will be a passive skill learned from  class trainers around level 75. In most cases, the Mastery stats will be  the same as the tree-unique bonuses we announced earlier this year.  These stats can be improved by stacking Mastery Rating found on  high-level items.

To Recap

When players reach level 10, they are presented with basic information  on the three specializations within their class and are asked to choose  one. Then they spend their talent point. The other trees darken and are  unavailable until 31 points are spent in the chosen tree. The character  is awarded an active ability, and one or more passive bonuses unique to  the tree they've chosen. As they gain levels, they'll alternate between  receiving a talent point and gaining new skills. They'll have a 31-point  tree to work down, with each talent being more integral and exciting  than they have been in the past. Once they spend their 31'st point in  the final talent (at level 70), the other trees open up and become  available to allocate points into from then on. As characters move into  the level 78+ areas in Cataclysm, they'll begin seeing items with a new  stat, Mastery. Once they learn the Mastery skill from their class  trainer they'll receive bonuses from the stat based on the tree they've  specialized in.

We understand that these are significant changes and we still have  details to solidify. We feel, however, that these changes better fulfill  our original class design goals for Cataclysm, and we're confident that  they will make for a better gameplay experience. Your constructive  feedback is welcomed and appreciated.

[DFE]

In my opinion this is second greatest change in Cataclysm - after hunter overhaul, of course

[saori]

sweet