Each week, WoW.com brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs. Have a screenshot of your UI you want to submit? Send your screenshots, along with info on what mods you’re using, to readerui@wow.com.
Readers, you are in for a treat this week. Reader UI of the Week tries to bring you ideas, information and discussion from all walks of World of Warcraft life: the raid UI, the Dalaran UI and the minimalist UI. One piece of the user interface puzzle, however, has been missing among my ranks — the PvP user interface. Today, we remedy that omission.
C. Christian Moore, WoW.com’s very own Blood Sport PvP columnist, approached me with a myriad of questions about his user interface. The WoW.com war room is a place of utmost professionalism, dignity and focus — as such, I responded to these questions with detailed analysis. The result is something spectacular.
We are currently going to do a massive site upgrade august 31st around 9pm pst. This update will include a brand new forum is all goes as planned. The update is going to add a bunch of features for users to help with their gaming experience. Keep in mind we will update with more information after the update.
Echoes of distant incantations fade through the stagnant air, announcing the warlock‘s departure. His maddening enslavement is no more, and fearful citizens once entrapped in darkness now fill the streets in celebration. But such revelry is hollow, for with the warlock lies the protection of his Blood Pact — and where it is removed, destruction follows.
Greetings from the eternal dark, master summoners.
Here we are again, at the beginning of another week, and dealing with the hot mess that the beta continues to splatter all over our computer screens. It is quite the experience, let me tell you. In some ways, it is glorious and satisfying. In others, well, let’s just say that I have witnessed numerous screen flickers, program crashes, and enough bugs to warrant an exterminator. And yes, I know — such is the testing phase and I should just be happy for the opportunity to enjoy four frames per second of Cataclysm goodness while so many others just hope for an invitation. Believe it or not, I am thrilled about it. You just can’t tell because, as usual, I am in an incredibly wretched mood — I play a warlock, after all.
During our last meeting, we took to the trees to break down the interesting changes made to the once lowly but now supremely sexy demonology specialization, which has developed beyond puberty to become a stunning piece of work. This week, we shift our focus to the right. We’ll be eyeing the key changes made to the least DoT-dependent of warlock specializations. Some call it the “shadow mage equivalent” and should be slapped in the face with meat cleaver. The more intelligent call it “destruction.”
As is always the case with posts like these, there will be what some consider to be spoilers in the information ahead. So please, click responsibly.
Today the Lineage II update servers were moved to Dallas as part of our data-center relocation. Because of this move, some users may difficulties connecting to the patcher. This can… Lineage II : The Chaotic Throne
Awesome new Cataclysm lore information has landed! Transcripts of the new player character introductions are now revealed, advancing the storyline of the old races and bringing new races up to speed. Remember, these new introductions contain some general WoW and Cataclysm spoilers. Check out the new introductions after the jump.
Update 01:20PM CET – Added Death Knight, Druid, Mage, Shaman and Warlock changes! 12:45PM CET – Added Priest and Rogue 12:10PM CET – Added Mounts, Companion Pets, Hunter, Paladin, Warrior changes. 11:10AM CET – Added Professions. 10:30AM CET – Added player and guild achievements.
Cataclysm Beta – Build 12857 (Codename Ninja)
A new beta build has been deploye… Actually, no, a new build appeared out of nowhere and was never deployed on beta servers. I have absolutely no idea why, but, hey, it’s still a beta build!
Disclaimer – This build is NOT ON BETA SERVERS, I have no way to confirm strange values by checking in-game and a lot of temporary stuff might be there. I strongly suggest that you don’t even try to complain about changes in this build on official forums, and if you plan to do it, you’d better do it in a very nice and constructive way if you don’t want to get your ass kicked. Disclaimer #2 – Most of the tooltips don’t work for the moment. Working on it.
The Twilight Zone – Guild Edition – With all three Twilight Drakes still alive, engage and defeat Sartharion the Onyx Guardian while in a guild group..
He Feeds On Your Tears – Guild Edition – Defeat Algalon the Observer while in a guild group without any raid member dying to Algalon at any point during that raid lockout period.
Bone Gaming Dice – Dwarves love gold and dwarves love drinking, so gaming seemed like a natural fit for both. These dice appear to have been carved from sheep bones. What might be dried blood is still visible on the 5 pip.Creates Item #63112.
Ceramic Funeral Urn – Some dwarves sealed their deceased in tombs. Those with a concern for the undead might be more apt to cremate remains. This urn is chipped and cracked, its ashes long since lost. The word ‘Thunderbolt’ is visible in Dwarven printed on the underside.Creates Item #63409.
Pewter Drinking Cup – \"If there\’s one thing dwarves love, it\’s drinking. And fighting. Two things.\"This cup may have belonged to a minor noble or wealthy merchant. It\’s heavy enough to bash in someone\’s brains, and residue suggest it may have been used for just that.Creates Item #63408.
Silver Neck Torc – Dwarves are famous metalsmiths. While they produce many implements of war, they are adept at working with softer metals as well. This piece of jewelry was sized for a lady with a very thick neck.Creates Item #63411. /
Stone Gryphon – Gryphons have long been allies of the Wildhammer dwarves, who brought their noble steeds to the rest of the Alliance. This small figurine was expertly carved from alabaster. The talons are sharp enough to pierce leather.Creates Item #63410. /
Worn Hunting Knife – This weapon has a notched blade and a handle fashioned of elk or ram horn. The initials ‘W. G.’ are carved near the pommel.Creates Item #63110. /
Cloak Clasp with Antlers – This clasp is fashioned of lacquered wood carved to resemble stag antlers. On the reverse is engraved the name ‘Pyramond’ in Darnassian.Creates Item #63407. /
Feathered Gold Earring – The feathers are probably from scarlet and green macaws, though they have been well preserved. The gold is twisted to appear like thorns or veins. The pin used to pierce the ear looks particularly painful.Creates Item #63413. /
Fossilized Hatchling – When you finished assembling this tiny skeleton through some eldritch magic, the little critter sprang back to life. He’s a pretty good pet. Since he’s a skeleton he doesn’t eat much.Creates Item #60955. /
Jade Asp with Ruby Eyes – This tiny figurine could possibly be a representation of High Priest Venoxis, though snakes of all types are venerated throughout troll culture. The delicate jaws on this figurine can be closed, presumably to draw blood from a finger.Creates Item #63412. /
Moltenfist’s Jeweled Goblet – Even among dark iron dwarf kings, Moltenfist’s avarice was legendary. This goblet, while once of high craftsmanship, has seen better days. It has been partially melted by exposure to lava or dragon fire.Creates Item #63414. /
Belt Buckle with Anvilmar Crest – Modimus Anvilmar was the high king of the dwarves before the War of the Three Hammers and is depicted by the great statue at the gates of Ironforge. This brass buckle might have belonged to a member of his house guard or a servant.Creates Item #63113. /
Black Trilobite – Trilobites are exctinct crustaceans that apparently were once quite diverse and numerous across Azeroth. Myths persist of living trilobites of supposedly epic proportions.Creates Item #63109. /
Fetish of Hir’eek – Hir’eek is one of the animal spirits worshipped by southern trolls. Hir’eek’s totemic animal is the bat. Jeklik, a high priestss of Zul’Gurub was one of Hir’eek’s most famous followers.Creates Item #63120. /
Highborne Pyxis – This is a small box of delicate ceramic, probably used to store cosmetics, jewelry or other small items belonging to a Highborne lady. The clasp is of silver and fashioned to look like two acorns and a holly leaf.Creates Item #63129. /
Inlaid Ivory Comb – While the most valuable jewels have gone missing, this cosmetic item must have been worth a small fortune back in its day. A series of tiny nautilus shells decorate one side, while the inscription ‘Lament for lost Zanara’ is visible on the other.Creates Item #63130. /
Lizard Foot Charm – This is a small, mummified foot of a jungle lizard. Any magic it once contained has long since been drained.Creates Item #63118. /
Preserved Fern – Ferns are primitive plants that have stems, leaves and roots but no seeds or flowers. They reproduce via spores, much like mushrooms. In ancient times, ferns occupied the niche that flowering plants do today.Creates Item #63121. /
Scrap of a Silk Dressing Gown – This mesh is finely woven, possibly of spider silk. The scrap is a silvery white that subtly shifts color in the light. It’s a wonder that it has endured years of being buried in the earth.Creates Item #63131. /
Voodoo Doll – Little is known about the emergence of voodoo among the trolls. The troll belief system is complex, full of dark spirits and primal often animalistic gods, known as loa.Creates Item #63115. /
Wooden Whistle – A small whistle carved from oak. It might have been used to summon a pet or mount or possibly used as a child’s toy. It appears to have been chewed on by an animal or young dwarf.Creates Item #63111. /
Felfire Inscription – Permanently adds 130 Intellect and 25 haste rating to shoulder armor.Can only be applied to your own armor, and doing so will cause it to become soulbound. / Reagents: Inferno Ink
Inscription of the Earth Prince – Permanently adds 195 Stamina and 25 dodge rating to shoulder armor.Can only be applied to your own armor, and doing so will cause it to become soulbound. / Reagents: Inferno Ink
Lionsmane Inscription – Permanently adds 130 Strength and 25 critical strike rating to shoulder armor.Can only be applied to your own armor, and doing so will cause it to become soulbound. / Reagents: Inferno Ink
Swiftsteel Inscription – Permanently adds 130 Agility and 25 mastery rating to shoulder armor.Can only be applied to your own armor, and doing so will cause it to become soulbound. / Reagents: Inferno Ink
Revitalize revamped – When you periodically heal with your Rejuvenation or Lifebloom spells, you have a 8/16/24% chance to instantly regenerate 3% of your total mana. This effect cannot occur more than once every 6 sec.
Heart of the Wild no longer increases maximum mana by 5/10/15%, now increases Intellect by 2/4/6%.
Widow Venom no longer mentions "Only one Venom per Hunter can be active on any one target.", I guess the 2 previous venoms are indeed gone.
Focus Fire now has a 15 sec cooldown. Down from 30 sec.
Improved Kill Command now Increases the critical strike chance of your Kill Command by 5/10% instead of reducing its cooldown.
Marksmanship
Kill Shot now deals 150% weapon damage (down from 200%) and scales with 30% of your Attack Power (down from 40%). Base damage reduced by 50%. Cooldown increased from 6 sec to 10 sec. Focus cost removed.
Multi-Shot – Fires several missiles, hitting your current target and all enemies within <unknown> yards of that target for x% of weapon damage. / 40 Focus, 5-35 yd range, Instant
Aimed Shot no longer deals 300% of weapon damage, now deals [ 40% of RAP + 681 ] damage. Cast time increased from 2 sec to 3 sec.
Arcane Shot base damage reduced by 60%, now scales from 19% of Attack Power, up from 17%.
Chimera Shot no longer deals 190% weapon damage, now deals [ 24% of RAP + 401 ].
Survival
Serpent Spread – Targets hit by your Multi-Shot are also afflicted by your Serpent Sting equal to 6/9 sec of its total duration.
Denounce revamped – Reduces the mana cost of Exorcism by 25/50%. In addition, you have a 50/100% chance when casting Holy Shock to make your next Exorcism spell instant and cost no mana.
Enlightened Judgements is now a Tier 4 talent, up from Tier 3. Healing value increased by 30%.
Healing Light renamed to Blazing Light – Increases the damage of your Holy Shock and Exorcism by 10/20%. (No longer affects Word of Glory’s healing)
Conviction is back as a Holy Tier 5 talent – Gives you a 1/2/3% bonus to damage and healing for 15 sec after causing a critical effect from a weapon swing, spell, or ability. This effect stacks up to 3 times.
Daybreak (Tier 3) *New* – Your Flash of Light, Holy Light and Divine Light have a 15/30% chance of resetting the cooldown on your Holy Shock.
Protection
Seal of Justice now deals [ 0.5% of MWS * AP + 1% of MWS * Spell Power ] additional Holy damage on each hit.
Vindication now has a chance to reduce physical damage done by the primary target of the skills. (Old – All targets)
Grand Crusader now only procs from damage dealt to your primary target.
Sanctuary now also reduces all damage taken by 3/7/10%.
Retribution
Selfless Healer now has a 50/100% chance to proc, up from 30/60%.
The Art of War revamped – Your melee attacks have a 7/14/20% chance to reduce the cast time by 100%, reduce mana cost by 60%, and increase damage by 60% of your next Exorcism.
Pursuit of Justice additional effect – You have a 50/100% chance to gain a charge of Holy Power when struck by a Stun, Fear or Immobilize effect.
Holy Word: Chastise now disorients the target for 3 sec instead of immobilizing it for 2 sec.
Revelations Serenity (Heal) base healing effect increased by 65%. Cooldown reduced from 45 sec to 20 sec.
Holy Concentration now increases the amount of mana regeneration from Spirit.
Twirling Light now heals for for 30/60% less. (Old – 30/60% of the amount)
Shadow
Shadowfiend now gives 3% mana when the Shadowfiend attacks, down from 5%.
Mind Control now has a 2.5 sec cast time, up from 2 sec.
Sin and Punishment now affects enemy targets within 10 yards, up from 6 yards. Additional effect – When your Mind Flay critically hits, the cooldown of your Shadowfiend is reduced by 10/20 sec.
Veiled Shadows now reduces the cooldown of Shadowfiend by 30 sec/60 sec. (Down from 1 min/2 min)
Masochism *New* – When you take a damaging attack equal to or greater than 10% of your total health or damage yourself with your Shadow Word: Death, you instantly gain 4/8% of your total mana.
Drain Mana mana cost reduced from 17% of base mana to 12% of base mana.
Drain Life now restores 5% total health to the caster every 1 sec regardless of damage done. Soulburn now reduces cast time by 50%, down from 60%. Mana cost reduced from 17% of base mana to 12% of base mana.
Life Tap changed to – You Life Tap for 20% of your total health, converting 75% of that into mana.
Corruption now has a 40 yards range, up from 30 yards.
Soul Swap now has a 40 yards range, up from 30 yards.
And I think Dark Pact is gone, but since I also screwed up with Soul Link last time, I strongly suggest that you assume I’m stupid until it’s confirmed.
Hand of Gul’dan‘s range increased from 30 yards to 40 yards and revamped – Summons a falling meteor down upon the enemy target, dealing 1597.26 to 1886.4 Shadow damage and erupts an aura of magic within 4 yards, causing all targets within it to have an increased 10% chance to be critically hit by any of your demons for 15 sec.
Aura of Foreboding <NYI> (Tier 4) *New* – When your Hand of Gul’dan lands, all enemies within 4 yards will be rooted for 2/3 sec and stunned for the same duration if they are still within the Curse of Gul’dan aura 6 sec afterword.
Sweeping Strikes now lasts 30 sec instead of lasting 5 attacks. Cooldown not changed yet.
Fury
Inner Rage now increases damage caused by all abilities by 15% (Down from 50%) and increases rage costs by 50% (Up from 15%). Values are just inverted and this is most likely a bug.
This coming weekend, from 10:00 am PDT on Friday, September 3rd, until 10:00 am PDT on Tuesday, September 7th, we will be running a true Double XP promotion (+100% XP).
The bonus applies to AA, tradeskill and adventure experience gained this weekend. Our French, German, Japanese, Test and EQ2 Extended servers will also be enjoying the increase in XP gain.
Bulgarian orchestrator and composer Penka Kouneva was interviewed by The Universal Gaming Database (UGDB).
She tells the humble story of her beginnings as a child, and her arrival to United States with only $ 130 in her pocket.
The hardships of earning her role in this line of work as a woman. A casual gamer who has orchestrated music for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and Starcraft II with Blizzard's contributing composer Neal Acree
She loves the music of all Blizzard games including World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, Burning Crusade and StarCraft II.
Blizzard Quote:
UGDB: One of your latest projects is the sequel to StarCraft – StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. Are you familiar with the game and the universe? What is it like to be an orchestrator for one of the most awaited games in the history of video gaming, known not only for its competitive gameplay, but also really great music?
Penka Kouneva: Yes, naturally. I love real-time strategy games and adore sci-fi. (My dad is an engineer and I have inherited his gene for strategic thinking). I did play StarCraft, and would also watch the video walkthroughs. I feel enormously inspired by all music that Blizzard incorporates in its games: StarCraft II with its modern, edgy music and epic, engaging Main Theme as well as World of Warcraft and its fantasy/epic scores. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have orchestrated some cues contributed by Neil Acree for both StarCraft II and World of Warcraft because these jobs were the most musically energizing and inspiring.
Did you know that after completing some crafting quest series you can buy your Advanced recipe volumes for that tier? Where do you find Bartending for Sadists? How do you get the recipes for Battlegrounds gear and Mark of Manaar gear?
Whether you're looking for the recipe for Mooshga Mush or need aChocolate Chip Cookie, you should find it all on our new Recipe Book Guide!
Russ Frushtick from Multiplayer.MTV interviewed Rob Pardo recently in relation to the progress on the Warcraft film.
Naturally, with the recent release and success of Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty, MTV asked if there were plans for a Starcraft film.
Rob Pardo surprisingly responded Blizzard Entertainment has always wanted to go this route with its franchises, but they really need to find the right production team.
Rob Pardo would love if James Cameron took the reins of a StarCraft film project. Read it over at MTV.
Blizzard Quote:
"We've always had an interest in seeing our stuff on film or TV. It's just tricky to find the right partners. We probably could have made a ['StarCraft'] movie or something on TV years and years ago, but it's really important to us that we find creative people that are really talented but also really excited about our properties. That's always been the challenge for us. I think if Jim Cameron came to us tomorrow and said, 'You want to make a 'StarCraft' movie?' we'd probably sign that."
James Cameron is currently planning a sequel to the record-shattering "Avatar". Blog
Some people just never learn to sing the Blues (pun intended). Daniel Hellerman and a friend developed a software titled Starcraft 2 Gameboard for the iPhone and iPad slated for mid-September 2010.
The app will supposedly report complete unit stats, battle guide detailing unit strengths and weakneses, controllable game map, easy touch access to the games most important hotkeys and macros, selectable unit groups, select individual units, control every units function with the touch of a finger; and other bunch of features.
It syncs your iPhone/iPad with your PC; and controls your Starcraft II game from the handheld device.
Don't go all excited and pre-order the software, however. This product is never coming out after Blizzard Entertainment Legal Department sends them a cease and desist letter.
That's the easiest way to waste your money on something that's not going to take off.
The first big no-no here is to charge .00 for the app using the name in the software's title: Starcraft; and launching the app on iTunes. That's grounds for copyright infringement. It's yet to be determined if the app merits Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) violations. Did I see Blizzard intellectual property images too in those UI icons? Oh boy!
Recently, Blizzard Entertainment won a legal case where the judge determined the defendant had to pay million to the studios in statutory damages and attorney fees. Blizzard Entertainment won a partial court decision in Tortious Interference and Copyright Infringement claims against MDY Industries back on 2008 which paid .5 million. Blog
I first featured this song a few months ago. WarLock is a collaboration piece by Cryssy, Sharm and Quixotica. It celebrates that most DoT-oriented class. At the time, there was a lot of hubbub about my use of “iconic” to describe Kesha. To be fair, I never said anything about whether I find that style of performance good or not; I only really said that if a person hears it, that person tends to think of Kesha.
But I’m especially glad for WarLock because whenever I hear the music from Tik-Tok, it’s WarLock‘s lyrics that spring to mind. WarLock has completely eclipsed the original in my subconscious, so I get to have that little party dance with myself. It’s the little victories that make life worth living.
Now is good timing to bring WarLock back up, because I hear Cryssy is working on a new project, so I hope to see that come to fruition soon. In the meantime, I’m just glad to have a few of Keisha’s lyrics gone from my brain.
Edit: Fixed the spelling of Keisha. When spellcheck goes wild, right?
Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at machinima@wow.com.
The latest state of the game update has been posted by Blizzard which looks forward to the next patch. The update entitled v1.1 & Beyond discusses some of the changes they are looking to make to the game for the next patch which is expected some time next month. Points to note inlclude nerfing of siege tank damage, Protoss warpgate cooldown increase, Ultralisk damage decrease and more.
The update also looks ahead to new features as Blizzard want to improve the social features on Battle.Net such as chat channels which is great news.
Bashiok, Blizzard’s community manager, has posted on the battle.net forums, discussing a subject that’s on the mind of every StarCraft 2 player: gameplay balance and patches that change it. The thread began with worries that Blizzard is keeping the game in an unbalanced form that will only be addressed by the next expansion, Heart of the Swarm, when it introduces new units and balance changes.
First of all, Bashiok quickly dispels this myth:
Our intent is not to have a game with broken balance in an attempt to sell an expansion. That should go without saying. It makes me sad it isn’t.
Next, he clarifies Blizzard’s approach to patching:
Our intent is also to not apply knee jerk fixes based on the first few weeks as understanding of the game and strategies are still in flux. The game is young, and we don’t feel that it would have been helpful to progressing peoples understanding by throwing in tons of fixes based on flavor-of-the-week (or day, or hour) strats.
We see a lot of variation between the regions. Making a change for how NA players play may be completely ridiculous for how KR players play, and actually mess up a balance there. For instance 10 of their top 20 players are zerg. So that’s one place where we have to be mindful and careful and attack balance issues with great prejudice.
That said. There are balance changes coming. What everyone was seeing in beta with tons of quick balance changes are because it was in beta and we feel we can get away with throwing out a lot of ‘we think this may help’ type fixes. With a live environment we’re not going to throw stuff out there unless we’re pretty sure. We’ve played. We’ve looked at data. We’ve looked at each region. And then we act. Which isn’t to say we may not be wrong from time to time, but it’s a more measured approach than beta players may be used to or expecting.
There you have it! Balance changes are coming, and they’ll be thought out and tested before we’re exposed to them. Indeed, in mid-September, Blizzard is planning on releasing the first real patch, and they’ve already released a situation report detailing some of the planned changes:
Patch 1.1 will contain a number of improvements including additional mod features, Editor improvements and bug fixes, some custom game improvements, support for NVIDIA’s 3D Vision, and more. We’d also like to share some specific plans for this patch with you.
Balance Changes
We have several balance changes in store. One general change we’re making is that friendly units will no longer provide vision after being killed. Enemy units previously revealed will no longer be targetable. Now let’s break down the additional balance changes we’re implementing.
This changes the way vision works so that units that are killed immediately lose the vision they provided on the field. Previously, killed units would still supply intelligence for a few short seconds, allowing players to jump to the location of the “under attack!” ping and see exactly what had happened.
Maps
We’re going to be adding destructible rocks to the Desert Oasis map to make natural expansions easier to protect. In addition, the center map watchtower area is being narrowed.
Protoss
We have two key changes in mind for the zealot: the build time is being increased from 33 to 38 seconds, and the warpgate cooldown is being increased from 23 to 28 seconds. Zealot rushes are currently too powerful at various skill levels, particularly those that rely on rapidly assaulting an enemy base from nearby “proxy” gateways. We feel the window players have to scout for and fend off this rush is too small. We also want to address the problem of protoss being able to dump minerals a bit too quickly with the combination of warpgates and Chrono Boost.
While this gives victims of proxy gateway rushes a little more breathing room, it also puts Protoss players in danger of getting Zerglings going past their choke point just slightly before the first bouncer Zealot comes out.
The late-game effect that slightly hinders the Protoss’ ability to mass up Zealots quickly is also no doubt a reaction to the following Siege Tank change:
Terran
There are several changes in the works for terrans. Reapers against zerg are stronger than expected. Due to the zealot build time increase, reapers would be a bit problematic in combination with proxy barracks, bunkers, and/or marauders against protoss. Therefore, we have decided to increase the build time of reapers as well from 40 to 45 seconds. Fast reaper + bunker, or fast marine + bunker rushes are problematic against zerg. Although this rush would never outright destroy the zerg player, we feel zerg suffers too much of a disadvantage from either having to cancel the fast expansion, or getting trapped inside the main base for too long, so we are also increasing the bunker build time from 30 to 35 seconds.
Siege tanks in large numbers are performing too well in all matchups. In the mid- to late-game, siege tanks are too dominant against all ground units. We want a small set of light and unarmored ground units to perform better against siege tanks. With this in mind, we’re changing the Siege Mode damage of the siege tank from 50 to 35, +15 vs. armored; to correspond with this, damage upgrades will be changed from +5 to +3, +2 vs. armored. This change reduces the base damage of the siege tank against light and unarmored units, as well as the splash damage.
Siege Tanks will now perform more like their StarCraft 1 Predecessors, dealing less damage to light-armored units like the Zealot, Marine, Zergling, and Hydralisk. A huge change for this unit that the Terran race has come to rely on, Tanks in siege mode will now be significantly less deadly to these units. Hydralisks will need 3 shots instead of 2 to be killed; carapace-upgraded Zerlings will survive the first shot, non-stimmed Marines will as well. Zealots, already capable of taking some tank fire while charging in to the battle, will be able to take one extra hit as well and survive 5 direct shots. This is not the first nerf to the Siege Tank, which has already had its damage lowered from 60 to 50 during the beta.
Siege Tanks will now benefit greatly from the +1 damage upgrade, allowing them to one shot Zerglings regardless of upgrades. A +2 attack Siege Tank will two-shot Hydralisks again, even if the Hydralisk is +2 carapace upgraded itself.
Battlecruisers currently lack good counters from the ground and still perform very well against a wide array of unit types. We’re aware that it is not easy to get battlecruisers out for the cost, but at the same time, it is possible in both 1v1s and team games to create stalemate situations to bring them out. Overall, we feel that battlecruisers are too strong for their cost, and the terran-forced stalemate situations are causing less interesting gameplay. We will be lowering their damage against ground units from 10 to 8.
Zerg
Ultralisk damage is being decreased from 15, +25 vs. armored to 15, +20 vs. armored. This reduction is comparable to the changes being made to the battlecruiser and siege tank. Like the battlecruiser, ultralisks are simply too powerful for the cost, even though they are difficult to muster. Also, in combination with other units, ultralisks are difficult to counter from the ground. The ultralisk building attack (Ram) is being removed because the damage rate is too similar to its normal attack, which will be used against buildings instead. When ultralisks target tightly packed smaller buildings such as supply depots, the Ram attack is actually outputting considerably less overall damage than its normal attack, as Ram only hits a single target.
The Ultralisk, which was highly underused during the beta, has finally been seeing use since the release of the game thanks to the final patches of the beta that have improved the unit’s damage, speed, and have given it a permanent “frenzy” effect along with the ability to break down Sentry Force-Fields. This is has made it quite devastating in some situation, so the current damage reduction definitely makes sense. On the other hand, Ultralisks will now be better than ever for breaking down tight chokes, as their AoE melee attack will be used against buildings as well.
Interesting changes all around, and these are only some of the promised ones to come in the next patch!
In a hilarious and predictable turn of events, that will perhaps prevent Blizzard from releasing these situation reports prematurely in the future, players who had read the report and have noted that Zealot proxy rushes and Siege Tanks are overpowered are abusing those to the max while they still can. Be warned!
As people have been exploring the pets, the new instances, and the new zones in the Aion 2.0 expansion on the PTS, many have also asked, “Where’s the PvP?”. Given that Aion is a two-faction PvP-oriented game, it’s a fair question. There are some really good PvP possibilities with 2.0 headed up by Silentera Canyon, but there are also some very big flops from the PvP player’s perspective. As a person who loves PvP (RIP Shadowbane), I thought I’d take a crack at telling the community what’s up.
The Good
Silentera Canyon
The biggest positive from my point of view is easily Silentera Canyon. I was able to have a looksee at the canyon after GMs helped to take the two fortresses for entrance to it on the test server and it looks like it has some really good potential. As a disclaimer, I entered when the Elyos were unable to enter and it’s possible that more guards may spawn when both sides can enter the canyon. Kisks can’t be used in the canyon.
The big thing I noticed at once is that the mobs are spread out and look easy to kite. This has got to be the dream instance for any class that kills elites through kiting. The instance also links to perpetual entrances into the enemy lands and you can stay there as long as you want. I was never ported back when sitting in Elyos territory when I was on the Asmodian faction. The following map from a PC Gamer article shows the Silentera Exits for both factions.
I took quite a few images of the instance as I was able to wander around in between the elite mobs. Even the central area of Jotun Square had only a few, very large Jotuns that were easily avoided. There were quests available for things like collecting items in the instance and so there are things other than PvP to do in the instance. And what’s not to like that I could potentially gank somebody at Pacifist’s Walk?
Pacifist’s Walk
Collecting Items for a Quest at the Western Corridor
Jotun Square with Lower Map Showing Mob Spacing
Elyos Side Guards Overlooking from Western Corridor
New Fortresses
For those who like large and more epic PvP, there are two new fortresses for each faction side in Balaurea and you can’t fly in either one of them. Those fortresses have a purpose – when you obtain them for your side you’ll open Silentera Canyon for your faction. The fortresses appear to be more difficult to obtain and retain when compared to regular Abyss fortresses.
It is possible to obtain all 4 fortresses (2 on your faction’s side and 2 on the opposing faction’s side) in order to spawn a regional governor two hours later. That governor drops an eternal class item and apparently can mail players gift rewards involving platnum medals, stigma shards, etc.
More Interesting Map Aerodynamics and Design
The new maps in Balaurea make better use of gliding and gliding itself has been incrementally improved. Gliding actually works more like gliding now where you can lay off all keys and occasionally gain altitude, but when you press the forward key (the “w” for most people), you increase your speed and go down quickly. The below image shows what this now looks like – it’s very obvious when people are holding down the forward key now.
There are a fair number of canyons and places that seem separated from the rest of the map. However, the difference between these places and previous maps is that they now have water/air spouts and windstreams that will change the dynamics of how people travel on the map. These added features should make for some different types of PvP experiences. For instance, you can fall both up and down in a geyser will this make it easier or harder for people to escape PvP? And can you imagine a Templar pulling a character out of a windstream with IJ from a hill?
Windstream in Gelkmaros
Water Geyser in Gelkmaros
Falling when a Water Geyser Comes Up
The Meh
The Meh category is for things are aren’t great, but aren’t so horrible that I want to bang my head into the wall over-and-over-and-over (no Cynic, you may not tell me to do eet anyway). It generally includes things that have some good parts and some of what I just call meh things.
Chantra Dredgion
So I was all excited that a new Dredgion instance was coming out and it’s good that a new instance came out, but… it looks and feels kinda like the old one. With some different colours thrown in. Surk guardians can’t be CC’d anymore and everybody sees through stealth, which is a good thing. The new hero mobs are apparently taking around 10 min to kill from reports in the Chantra Dred thread. It’s just not the new instance I was hoping for.
Chantra Dredgion Instance Map
Chantra Dredgion First Room
Less PvP Emphasis Overall
The expansion seems to primarily deal with new content for PvE rather than PvP. There are pets and even new solo instances like Haramel and Nightmare where people can escape from ever encountering another person. For what is supposed to be a PvPvE game, it seems to be veering off towards the PvE side of things.
As part of this, it has become more difficult for individuals to seek solo PvP encounters. The entrance to Silentera Canyon is filled with rows of Balaur and I had to die before I could raise myself and enter the canyon as a solo player. The image below gives something of an idea of how to enter the canyon after passing in the middle of a row of Balaur.
The Balaur seem very aggressive on the PTS with retaking the forts on either side in Balaurea. As of the time of this writing, both forts that belonged to the Asmodians have been retaken by the Balaur. Remember that you cannot enter Silentera unless both forts belong to the faction wishing to enter. Additionally, the PTS groups have not really managed to take the fortresses without GM intervention. While the PTS groups are small, this probably means that the fortresses are challenging to take. This spells trouble for servers without active factions on both sides.
Debris of Abyss
There is a new instance for the Divine Fortress called in the patch notes Debris of Abyss (patch notes). While I’m sure the instance will be fun for those who own Divine Fortress, this instance probably isn’t going to help the faction imbalance that exists on some servers where Divine was overwhelmingly taken by a single faction.
Gear
The level 55 PvP gear from 2.0 on the PTS has not been well received by players (No Abyss Eternal Gear?). Those who want to PvP in order to obtain gear may want to look at the Veille’s/Mastarius’s gear sets that are obtained from fighting to take fortresses in the new zones. These sets are very noticeable with the winged capes they have (oooh, pretty).
The Ugly
Rifting Nerfs
It appears that rifting was nerfed in the Korean version of the game fairly badly (see this initial article and comments on it via Google Translate). That’s 76% of the Korean players commenting that a defense buff protecting people from twinks is not needed. However, we do know that there is a defense buff to protect individuals from twinks in Morheim/Eltnen and Beluslan/Heiron. The goal of this move appears to be to force twinks into either the Abyss for PvP or towards the end game rifting in Balaurea.
Kisks can no longer be placed in the mountains, making the best hidden kisk locations obsolete. Of course, there are now camouflage kisks to make up for this, although I personally liked concentrating on where to glide in order to find or hide a kisk.
The truly ugly part of all of this is that rifting on the PTS is entering the realm of the impossible for the lower level zones. Rifting quests are equally almost impossible as rifting characters can’t actually fight off the native inhabitants.
Localization
After the PTS came up, a couple of different threads were started about perceived PvP difficulties on the PTS. One was about rifting in lower level zones and the other was regarding guards that exist on the PTS that don’t exist in the Korean version of the game. Numerous images have shown the greater number of guards in the NA version of the game now.
A guard that only exists in the NA version of the game
It is currently unclear whether the rifting nerfs are different between the NA and Korean versions, but given the greater number of guards in the NA version, it’s quite likely that rifting was nerfed harder here than it was in Korea (this is not yet confirmed however — if somebody could look into this it’d be great). Quotes from the thread on the rifting nerfs mention as much as an 80% damage debuff for the Eltnen/Morheim zones.
Whether or not solo PvP’ers can navigate the new maps with the extra guards actually doesn’t matter – it’s the fact that localization seems to be aimed at reducing PvP that is of concern. Rift type PvP appears to be the primary form of PvP that people will encounter at level 55. Hanging all the hopes of Aion 2.0 PvP onto the small instance of Silentera Canyon (it’s not a large instance when compared with current zones), seems like a bad idea that will effect the open world PvP feel of the game. Remember that there are no new Abyss zones for level 55’s to choose from and that Silentera Canyon itself is not always open. Those who enjoyed PvP in the neutral core from those who farmed there, may be disappointed.
While there is certainly a population in Aion that does not like open world PvP, those who remember games such as Ultima Online fondly will mourn the loss of the open world PvP feeling in the game in Balaurea. At this point, I personally am unsure of how to balance the game between those who wish to pursue PvE challenges (PvE is much improved in 2.0) and those who prefer to go out and PvP consistently. Most games balance these two with having a PvP specific server where things like the extra guards and rifting nerfs would be taken out. Is this what will need to happen in Aion for the future?
TL;DR – the Summary
The PvP in 2.0 is a mixed bag with Silentera Canyon promising an interesting experience, the new fortresses that need to be held to open Silentera, and the interesting new aerodynamics of the Balaurea maps. The Chantra Dredgion is at best a meh PvP instance as it’s very similar to the old Dredgion and there seems to be an emphasis on PvE over PvP in the expansion overall. The really ugly things that have happened in terms of PvP are the rifting nerfs and overall the fact that localization of the game appears to be trying to nerf PvP even more.
It is not currently known what the overall direction of Aion in the future is, but if PvP continues to be de-emphasized, the PvP crowd is going to only become more disenfranchised. The only thing I’ve been able to think of personally has been asking for a PvP-oriented server. Which seems rather strange in a two-faction PvPvE-based game. AionSource Community News
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