WARLORDS OF DRAENOR ahoy !
Here's the WARLORDS site:
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/warlords-of-draenor/
Blizzcon, November 7 & 8:
http://us.battle.net/blizzcon/en/virtual-ticket/
Patch 6.03 Notes:
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/16549669/603-patch-notes-10-27-2014
Australian servers !
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/16495451/australian-servers-down-under-10-23-2014
We'll leave this here for now, there's a thread for it in G & T: OVERWATCH trailer
http://us.battle.net/overwatch/en/
Go here for the expansion FAQ:
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/11514711/World_of_Warcraft_Warlords_of_Draenor_BlizzCon_2013_FAQ-10_30_2013
Q: What are the key features of Warlords of Draenor?
Some of the new content and features of Warlords of Draenor include:
•Explore a Savage World: Explore the hostile world of Draenor, home of the orc and draenei races, as it once existed, and adventure in all-new zones alongside characters central to Warcraft history.
•Build Your Garrison: Construct, command, and expand your own customizable stronghold on Draenor, and gather NPC followers to collect resources and embark on missions on your orders.
•Instantly Upgrade to Level 90: Boost one character of your choosing to be ready to adventure on Draenor, making it easier than ever to enjoy the latest content alongside your friends.
•New Player Character Art: Character models and animations for many of World of Warcraft’s existing playable races are being fully revamped in keeping with the game’s iconically epic style.
•Adventure to Level 100: Reach new heights of power and unlock bonuses to further enhance your abilities on your way to the new level cap of 100.
•…And More: Take on a wide array of Dungeons, Raids, Scenarios, Battlegrounds, Challenge Modes, and more—no matter what kind of content you enjoy, new adventures await.
Q: How does the Garrison work? What kinds of followers and upgrades are available?
To establish a foothold on Draenor and bolster your faction’s defenses against the formidable Iron Horde, each player will need to build and manage their own Garrison, a customizable fortress that serves as your personal base of operations throughout the course of the expansion. As you complete quests and win allies to your cause, your Garrison will expand and you’ll be able to choose which upgrades you’d like to construct from a variety of options. You’ll also meet and recruit NPC allies and followers who will join you at the Garrison, each providing different benefits.
For example, a miner rescued from a dungeon might take up residence and help gather Mining resources. A heroic warrior you quarter might embark upon quests at your command, with a chance to return with valuable treasures. Other characters might provide you with quests that expand upon their own stories or lead you to valuable assets in your campaign.
When it comes time to upgrade your Garrison, you might choose to build a Barracks to send more followers on missions simultaneously, an Inn to provide new recruits, or an Infirmary to speed up injured followers’ recovery time between assignments. You may instead decide to build a Smithy and recruit a Blacksmith to research new plans and craft valuable resources (such as those with daily cooldowns). You’ll also be able to invite friends to visit your Garrison to trade resources and see how your home base stacks up against their own.
Q: What new zones will I explore on Draenor?
The expansion sends players to Draenor as it existed before it shattered into the realm World of Warcraft players know as Outland—and while some of the names of these places might be familiar, we’re building them all from scratch for the expansion.
Here’s a breakdown of Draenor’s zones:
•Frostfire Ridge: Across snow-covered wastes and beneath towering volcanoes, heroes of the Frostwolf clan and the Horde unite to repel invaders from their homeland.
•Shadowmoon Valley: Amid rolling moonlit hills, the draenei at the holy temple of Karabor unite with the Alliance in a desperate fight for survival against the Iron Horde and Shadowmoon clan.
•Gorgrond: Deep within the desert canyons of Gorgrond, an arsenal of massive siege weapons built by the Blackrock clan is about to be unleashed upon the whole of Draenor.
•Talador: In the shadow of a besieged Shattrath City, the Auchenai Soulpriests actively seek to safeguard the countless draenei souls inside Auchindoun from a terrible demonic threat.
•Spires of Arak: At the height of their power, the regal arrakoa plot atop their high peaks, well out of the reach of the brutal Shattered Hand orcs and the wingless outcasts below.
•Nagrand: Among the fertile hills and outcroppings of Nagrand, the bloodied wolf-riders of the Warsong clan remain a threat not to be trifled with.
•Tanaan Jungle: Within the overgrown jungle home of the Bleeding Hollow clan, a Dark Portal is under construction . . . and an Iron Horde army makes grim preparations to conquer Azeroth.
Q: Why are you giving everyone a level-90 character boost?
World of Warcraft is constantly evolving, and these days players engage with the game in a wider variety of ways than ever. Some enjoy the process of exploring the world and leveling up. Others enjoy the challenge of raiding. Many simply enjoy playing with their friends, wherever they may be. One of our primary goals with Warlords of Draenor is to empower WoW players to quickly and easily be able to participate in the content they’re most interested in, and giving everyone a level-90 character upgrade right out of the gate helps make that possible.
One common piece of feedback we’ve received from new players and those who’ve taken an extended break from the game is that World of Warcraft requires a significant time investment before they’re able to “catch up” and play with high-level friends. Design changes such as speeding up the leveling curve and features like the popular Scroll of Resurrection and Recruit-a-Friend system have proven very popular, but the issues’s only getting more challenging with each patch and expansion we release. By giving players the option to boost a character to be ready for the latest expansion content, we hope to remove some of these entry barriers and make it so anyone can pick up and enjoy Warlords of Draenor right away, no matter how much World of Warcraft they’ve played in the past.
Q: It’s been a while since I’ve played WoW—will I know what to do with a level-90 character?
At the start of the new expansion, players will be thrust into an exciting introductory experience involving a desperate strike against the orc forces on Draenor. During this opening sequence, new and returning players will have an opportunity to get up to speed on the game before diving into their faction’s starting zone content—similar to the Death Knight starting experience in Wrath of the Lich King. We’ve also recently added features such as Proving Grounds, which help players learn how to tank, heal, and deal damage in dungeons in a solo “teaching” environment, to help ease the learning curve and prepare players for battle as quickly, efficiently, and enjoyably as possible.
Q: How will the included level-90 character upgrade work?
In regions where players purchase World of Warcraft expansions, each World of Warcraft account that you upgrade to the Warlords of Draenor expansion will receive one level-90 character boost (to be used once the expansion releases). You don’t need to decide which character to boost immediately. You can also create a level-1 character from scratch and then use the upgrade on that if you wish. The boosted character will also receive a level-appropriate set of gear (along with some other assistance) to make sure you’re set for adventuring. We’ll have more details to share as development continues.
For regions where players do not purchase expansions (including China, Korea, and Taiwan), we’ll have more information to share on our plans in the future. In the meantime, our goal for all regions remains the same—to give players a way to get straight to the action in Draenor.
Q: Why revisit the player races’ art now? Will I recognize myself in the mirror?
As we’ve released new World of Warcraft content and expansions, we’ve received feedback that some of the earlier player character models and animations are no longer measuring up to the quality of the newer races. Because Warlords of Draenor takes players back to the homeland of the Orcs—one of WoW’s original playable races—it felt like a great time to update not just the Orcs, but other playable races that could use a refresh.
We know that many of you already strongly identify with the look of your current character, so we’re dedicating a lot of time and resources to make sure these updates capture each race’s iconic identity and personality. We’re still in the process of determining which races will be available upon the expansion’s release, but our goal is to update all eight of the original World of Warcraft playable races, along with the Draenei and Blood Elves, over the course of the expansion launch and subsequent content updates.
Q: What kinds of bonuses will my character earn on the journey from level 90 to 100?
Warlords of Draenor introduces a new bonus system that rewards players with powerful perks as they level up to the new cap. At every level from 91 to 100, characters will earn a major permanent boost to one of their their key spells and abilities (e.g. a Fire Mage might earn a +50% damage boost to Pyroblast or +30% boost to Scorch). Players will also unlock a new talent tier once they’ve achieved level 100, rewarding each class with three potent new abilities to choose from.
Q: What are the plans for new Dungeons, Scenarios, and Raids?
We’re planning 6 new 5-player dungeons for the launch of Warlords of Draenor, along with a revamped version of the classic Blackrock Spire. One of our goals is to make sure we’re giving players a good mix of “level-up” Dungeons along with some new, unexplored Dungeons to delve into at max level. The expansion will also give players a chance to earn awesome transmogrifiable weapons and other unique rewards in Challenge Mode Dungeons. We’re also planning a wide variety of Scenarios for launch, along with Heroic Scenarios for those who enjoy the extra challenge.
On the Raiding front, we’re planning 2 new raid instances around launch, as well as new world bosses. We’ll also continue to provide players with a wide variety of raiding options. In addition to offering four tiers of difficulty as in Patch 5.4, we're also extending our Flexible Raid scaling technology to Normal difficulty raiding. We’ll have more details to share as development continues.
Q: What challenges await in the world of PvP?
Warlords of Draenor will feature a new world PvP zone that hurls Horde and Alliance players into an epic conflict fighting for control of strategic fortresses on Draenor. This new area will be seamlessly instanced, with the goal of providing better performance and a more balanced PvP experience than was possible in WoW’s earlier world PvP zones. We’re also planning several major PvP-related UI improvements, including updates to help you track and communicate with your team about objectives in Battlegrounds, along with enhancements to Arena and Rated Battleground enemy unit frames designed to relay key information more clearly.
Q: What’s in store for professions?
One of our goals in Warlords of Draenor is to make each of the game’s existing Professions more engaging and integrated into the gameplay. To that end, the Garrison will play a major role in your character’s Professions in this expansion—similar to how your farm was key to the Cooking profession in Mists of Pandaria, only on a much more epic scale.
Q: What can players expect while questing in Draenor?
We received a lot of feedback over the course of Mists of Pandaria about what kinds of quests and world PvE content players enjoy most, and we’re continuing to evolve the questing experience in Warlords of Draenor with that in mind. Our goal is to give players a wide variety of fun and unexpected activities, ranging from the kinds of quests they’re familiar with to new experiences along the lines of the exploration- and event-driven Timeless Isle introduced in Patch 5.4: The Siege of Orgrimmar.
Q: Will you be making any changes to what Stats are available?
One of our goals for Warlords of Draenor is to make the act of finding and collecting loot even more exciting for players. With that in mind, we’re adding some fun new stats to gear, such as Movement Speed and Cleave, which gives you a chance to do extra damage or healing to additional nearby targets. In addition, we’ll be retiring a few stats that players don’t find very enjoyable to manage, such as Hit and Expertise. We’re also making improvements to armor itemization that will make it easier to share armor pieces across classes. We’ll have more details to share as development continues.
Q: Will there be any updates to the graphics and changes to the minimum system requirements?
Yes—we’re planning a number of tweaks and improvements to the graphics engine in this expansion, including some updates related to the upgraded player characters and the introduction of the Garrison. We’re also looking into updating other existing systems with an eye toward improving graphical quality and performance. We’ll announce the exact system requirements closer to the expansion’s release.
Posts
I'm fine with the idea, but the execution was poor.
If you're going to make the place drop nothing (and I totally understand why it doesn't give more gear, that isn't what it's there for), it shouldn't be tuned in such a way that it allows groups to fail. It really should have just been a steamroll LFR for people to fart around in, collect their mount and their hat, and be on their way. It's supposed to be a celebration event, not a test of patience.
I thought this is exactly what it was going to be. Then they made it 2 hours long with accurate representation in how awful MC was with raid wide debuffs (except now dispels are on an 8 second cooldown!) and the high bullshit that is lava packs.
I will say even though it's awful and not fun at all, it certainly gave me a lot of nostalgia. The first time I got hit with Pyroclastic Barrage I had legit flashbacks, so I guess mission accomplished.
In positive news I got an exploration mission this morning that granted me haala tokens! So Now I have the dark war talbuck mount that I'm sure people are going to bitch people can get easier. Hilariously I had to kill the same druid 3 freaking times in a row because douche's gonna douche. he even sent a friend request I'm guessing to bitch that I steamed his ass.
pleasepaypreacher.net
pleasepaypreacher.net
Also you have people afk'ing just like they did back in the day.
pleasepaypreacher.net
...yeah, no. Can't aoe for shit now, ember generation is beyond fucked. I feel like a poor kid begging for food every fight I need embers.
Respeccing Demonology while Blizzard fix their shit.
Currently playing: GW2 and TSW
I do have some rares/treasures I can hunt down, but I don't think it'll be nearly enough for the lvl 3 Barracks and profession buildings.
pleasepaypreacher.net
Being stuck behind a wind wall on CM Skyreach on a melee, doing no damage because UBRS last boss spins all the damn time.. not much sympathy for ranged losing mobility. At least melee brings the damage now, though have to see what the raid encounters look like for melee.
And with what I'm hearing about what happens to your mission generation rate once you get to all level 100s, I'm starting to question the usefulness of Barracks 3, which is what I was saving for.
I personally think the whole thing was intended to be a cynical play at the people who continually wax nostalgic about how great Vanilla was, as sort of an un-subtle "hey, you still miss 40-mans now?" message by Blizzard, more than any sort of seriously organized event that execution would really have any factor in. Remember, this is still comparatively significantly more than they've done for previous anniversaries; most of the time it has been "thanks for playing - here's your pet."
There's not much actual use for large slots anyway. Bodyguard is neat I guess, though the daze immunity from stables is tempting.
What happens when you have all 100's? I mean I have leveled like 16 bros to 100 I don't see anything horrific happening with my missions?
pleasepaypreacher.net
I hope so, because that would be hilarious. And also accurate. MC is garbage compared to even Kara, let alone a lot of newer stuff.
pleasepaypreacher.net
I actually kind of like this, though. I don't want any structure to feel mandatory 100% of the time, so I can experiment with others without feeling like I'm losing anything. I'd like to dump the barracks once all of my followers are levelled, so I can build a gladiator sanctum, or whatever the other large buildings are.
Found a dungeon in my barracks today. It has skeletons shackled to walls. What have my followers been up to?
When you put someone in shackles and they're brown, you don't have to feed them. True fact proven by history.
The barracks is useful for having more mission types for leveling and the +5 to your roster and a bodyguard. I just wish that when you assigned a follower to a building it took them out of your active roster, that way it would encourage you to assign followers to buildings and not punish you for doing so.
pleasepaypreacher.net
I've been really hesistant to share this publically, but you don't need followers assigned to structures all the time. If you have ten work orders ready to pick up, you can quickly assign them, pick up the work orders and receive the full bonus, and then unassign them.
There is a bodyguard that lets you access your garrison missions from anywhere in Draenor,
http://www.wowhead.com/follower=219.2/leorajh
Need to get him to level 3 rep though.
"Orkses never lose a battle. If we win we win, if we die we die fightin so it don't count. If we runs for it we don't die neither, cos we can come back for annuver go, see!".
pleasepaypreacher.net
I think by 'work rate' they mean 'increased output.' I tend to get 2 leathers from a work order when I've got a follower there, or a leather + sorcerous material, as opposed to just the one thing otherwise. I've never actually checked the times, but I think it's 4 hours regardless
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
I have heard that it's a straight up 50% chance of a bonus mat per work order until you get your guy to 100, then it's a 100% chance. Not sure if it's true though.
Yeah, followers don't increase the speed of work orders, just output.
And you only need the follower assigned to the building when you loot the work order box to get the bonus.
You can just toss a follower on a building, go loot the work orders, maybe grab whatever buff (if any) they have, then go back and take them off.
The exceptions to this are for the Herb Garden, which if you want a specific herb, you need to have a follower assigned to it during the daily turnover.
Also I think you need Nat Pagle assigned to the Fishery in order to be able to catch lunkers.
And obviously Barracks for Bodyguards.
It's kinda silly to have to game the system; if they just granted XP to followers who were working buildings, I don't think there'd even be a need to take them out of your active roster. Plus Bodyguards should get XP as you kill things with them. That seems obvious.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
As someone who used to be firmly in the anti-casualification of raiding as a whole, this warms the cockles of my heart. I'm glad people who arrived after these early experiences (and even I wasn't around for EQ) are getting a taste of how far forward raids today actually are. Hopefully it increases the enjoyment of everyone for WoD raids.
What is funny is how after MC, Blizzard had to take many steps backward before moving forwards. They made some truly outrageous requirements for later raids. Nature resist for AQ comes to mind, as well as original Gruul, 45 min trash respawn timers on SSC, pre nerf TK. The difference there was that whereas for original MC most people (EQ vets excepted) had no idea what the goose they were doing, by the time people got to those BC raids people knew what they were doing (this is post original naxx, commonly viewed as an early pinnacle of raiding tuning and complexity), and were ground to a paste repeatedly until blizzard changed their tune.
Sorry a bit of waxing nostalgic on my part. Raiding is like stockholm syndrome, the worse it was, the more fondly I remember it.
The benefit is more followers that can benefit from xp; but the drawback is losing the ability to counter some of the harder missions where you basically need epic followers with multiple counters.
Hrm.
EDIT: I'm not totally sure what the utility of limiting active followers or having an arbitrary limit on how many you can activate a day.
Why does it matter?
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
And of course Four Horsemen (8 warriors with a tier-3 set bonus, ie, items that dropped IN NAXX) was also up there.
And shadow cloaks for Nefarion, or you'd just flat out die after phase 1 (unless you hid on the throne, we eventually learned). And you needed to skin Onyxia for the cloaks, which you couldn't do unless you had Finkle's skinner or something to boost skinning to 315.
Poison resist for AQ was funny because you'd be farming Maraudon, a level 40ish instance, to do bleeding edge level 60 content.
It's the day before a holiday and I'm just rambling because I'm ready to leave work and go play WoW. Because it's fun again. Good job, WoD.
I still have a bunch of Onyxia scales, I farmed her back when she was still lvl 60. Can't bring myself to toss them.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
I'll give "early pinnacle", but that's like saying "well, this bit sticks up out of the mud puddle...", because it's compared to the absolute garbage that was things like Huhuran and C'Thun-the-mathematically-impossible, which all came after RFC 2.0, the orgy of brown..