tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-368148002024-03-05T11:24:08.109+00:00The Suicidal ZebraSuicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.comBlogger283125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-29291227607808770442011-08-17T19:20:00.003+01:002011-08-19T23:39:39.657+01:00Dungeon And Tier Set Look-AlikesSo, we now know what the Ethereal Transmogrifier will be up to in (projected) 4.3 - take two items you have and make one look like the other if they're the same base type. For example you'll be able to take your ass-looking BiS Ret Boots and remodel them into a skin that looks much more appealing. So long as neither are Lengendaries that is:
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<br /><blockquote>You will not be able to transmogrify using a legendary item as either the source or the recipient of a change.
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<br />(<a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2973026165?page=25#487">Source</a>)</blockquote>
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<br />Though given the no-doubt coming s**t-storm over that it's questionable just how long that particular rule will remain in force.
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<br />Anyway, almost everyone and their dog is justifiably going on about making their set look like the Tier 2 for their class. Unless you're a Warlock, in which case you can pretty much choose whatever Tier you want because they're <b>all awesome</b>. However at this stage it looks like you'll probably need to source that item, and that's not all together easy in the case of the early Tiers - drop pools on Molten Core and BWL bosses were *huge*, and they've still got a lock-out preventing you from re-running them multiple times per day. Not all is lost however, in Burning Crusade many of the models were recoloured and re-used in matching item sets which dropped from Dungeons, including most of Tier 2. For example, this snazzy blue recolour of Lightforge:
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.wowpedia.org/images/thumb/3/3b/Lightforge_Look_Alike.jpg/282px-Lightforge_Look_Alike.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 282px; height: 599px;" src="http://www.wowpedia.org/images/thumb/3/3b/Lightforge_Look_Alike.jpg/282px-Lightforge_Look_Alike.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>
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<br />The whole list of these recolours can be found at Wowpedia.org:
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<br /><a href="http://www.wowpedia.org/Set_look_alikes">http://www.wowpedia.org/Set_look_alikes</a>
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<br />And as a bonus, most of them don't have class specific requirements either. Enjoy your new, or should I say 'retro', look. Just don't use it too much or Blizz's art designers may have a sad.Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-55639990479683417642011-02-09T23:36:00.003+00:002011-02-10T00:14:22.801+00:00Rebuke Day: 4.0.6 Patch ReactionAt first I was like<br /><br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 174px;" src="http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/9535/1odmz.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571844234291333682" /><br /><br /><a href="http://rhida.ch/2011/02/09/an-asinine-change-to-holy-power-generation/">and then I<br /><br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvQRY8XcIrL6QThuqTmnyOgXwJ9nnWPjSg94obdbBn61sDTGKIUUjiBJ_leTj5zc3Yb9_tqCca7LTKR5c6-cs18m-PQl5S-x4GB-K2btZyr-__3ekK24-t8MatVqY12vjvd2Ok/s400/headdesk.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364036009003106098" /></a><br /><br />But as Ret I was still<br /><br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 174px;" src="http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/9535/1odmz.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571844234291333682" />Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-5824002988429565072011-01-19T19:56:00.003+00:002011-01-19T20:33:01.963+00:00Notes On the Latest PTR ChangesJust a quickie today. MMO-Champion is reporting that the new Mastery effect (+20% damage as Holy Damage for TC, CS and Auto-Attack, +2.5% per point) has been nerfed a little to +16%/+2.1%. Arghhhhh.... right?<br /><br />Right?<br /><br />Well, don't be too alarmed. Previous PTR builds weren't properly increasing the damage of our Mastery with Inquisition (+30% Holy Damage, lest we forget) and from the sounds of things Hand of Light was being balanced around the output seen on the PTR. Lylirra was kind enough to pop onto the PTR forums and clarify if this was intended:<br /><br /><blockquote><blockquote>RLimbaugh said:<br /> Is the new Mastery we have suppose to be affected by inquisition or not? Been wondering that since it was announced.</blockquote><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">It is. There was a bug that was preventing this from occurring, though, but it should be resolved in the next PTR build. :)</span><br /><br />(<a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/1921983173?page=3#50">Source</a>)</blockquote><br />Rush is good for something. Who knew?<br /><br />Another point of concern raised on the PTR testing sites (most recently by <a href="http://www.hazmacewillraid.com/2011/01/ptr-4-0-6-ret-roundup/">Antigen</a>) was that Hammer of Wrath was hitting like a wet noodle (his words). Well, the CM was also nice enough to clarify this too in the same thread:<br /><br /><blockquote><blockquote>Samual Said:<br /><br />Hammer of Wrath damage has been nerfed by 50% on the 4.0.6 PTR. [Is this intended?]</blockquote><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">This is actually a bug. A very non-excessive, non-stealthy bug. There was small coding change in the latest PTR build that caused Hammer of Wrath, a ranged ability, to use ranged attack power instead of melee attack power. The change itself was completely unintended and has since been corrected. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">That said, we're still watching paladin damage (both sustained and burst), and if we feel that further adjustments need to be made, Hammer of Wrath may actually be a good candidate. </span><br />(<a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/1921983173?page=2#35">Source</a>)</blockquote><br /><br />Yay for Blues communicating :). I'm not convinced that nerfing Hammer of Wrath is that good a candidate for addressing higher than desired Retribution DPS (It's only up for a relatively short period of time, Tier 12-13 levels of Haste may significantly impact rotation with higher TV damage and better scaling for Exorcism), but a heads-up is always welcome to me.<br /><br />The upshot is that Mastery Rating should be appreciably better than Crit and Haste, even though the effect of Haste on DPS is rather erratic and hence difficult to assess.Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-30858373243837266572011-01-06T16:09:00.015+00:002011-01-13T17:20:59.360+00:00UPDATED: 4.0.6 PTR Paladin ChangesUPDATE: Full Patch Notes <a href="http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/2138-Patch-4.0.6-Patch-Notes-%28PTR%29">here</a>. Added Crusader Strike and Repentence notes.<br /><br />UPDATE 2: Added Rebuke (happy Tankadins) and Sacred Shield (Happy PvP Ret) changes.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/2137-Patch-4.0.6-deployed-on-PTRs">MMO-Champion</a> has all the gossip on the class changes in the 4.0.6 PTR Build. As Boub rightly says many of the changes are tooltip changes reflecting the hotfixes of the past few months, but it looks like the promised changes to Retribution's Mastery and Divine Purpose are in.<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Paladin Changes</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">General</span><br /><br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Inquisition </span>is now undispellable</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rebuke </span>is now a baseline skill available to all Paladins at level 54. Retribution Paladins gain a new Talent in Rebukes position.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Crusader Strike </span>base damage increased from 115% Weapon Damage to 135%</li><li><span style="font-weight:bold;">Seal Of Truth</span>: All single target attacks (including Judgement, Hammer of Wrath, Exorcism, and Templar's Verdict) can now trigger this seal. Seal of Truth will no longer Proc Seals of Command twice from one attack</li><li><span style="font-weight:bold;">Forbearance</span></li><ul><li>The duration has been lowered to 1 minute, down from 2.<br /></li><li>Lay on Hands now causes Forbearance on the target. It used to only cause it when cast on the paladin. This was an old design from when Divine Protection caused Forbearance and the paladin didn't want to prevent a tank from using their defensive cooldown.</li><li>Lay on Hands cannot be a critical effect and will not be affected by most abilities which modify healing (such as Beacon of Light).</li><li>Since only Divine Shield, Lay on Hands and Hand of Protection cause Forbearance, the tooltips have been adjusted to better explain the mechanic.<br /></li></ul></blockquote><br />[It's difficult to understate the impact of Rebuke being moved to baseline for Protection Paladins. Where once it was brushed of as a 'Quality of Life' issue for tanks, not having an interrupt has more an more often been exposed as a genuine weakness for Tanks and DPS. Moving it to baseline makes a lot of sense, and the cheers can <a href="http://rhida.ch/2011/01/07/what-patch-4-0-6-brings-for-tankadi-oh-screw-it-rebuke/">already be heard</a>. Crusader Strike being buffed is good for everyone - more threat, more DPS.<br />Inquisition, Zealotry and Righteous Fury now being undispellable make me suspicious that dispelling mechanics will be returning to PvE Raids in 4.1.]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Holy</span><br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Divine Plea </span>now gives you 12% of your total mana over 9 sec, up from 10% of your total mana over 15 sec.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Light of Dawn </span>base healing has been reduced by 40%, from 1008 - 1124 to 605 - 675.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tower of Radiance </span>no longer affects Holy Light.</li></blockquote>[The latter two changes are tooltip clarifications. I wasn't aware of any Hotfix to Divine Plea though, so that's a significant buff to a fairly ropey skill]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Protection</span><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Blessing of Kings </span>now costs 19% of base mana, up from 6% of base mana.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Shield of the Templar </span>(Rank 1) now reduces the cooldown of Guardian of Ancient Kings by 40 sec, down from 45 sec. Other ranks unchanged.</li></blockquote><br />[I'm pretty sure that the SotT(r1) change was hotfixed in a while ago. Blessing Mana Changes are pretty meaningless in the main unless new encounters have a magic buff dispelling effect, implemented to maintain parity with Mark of the Wild apparently.]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Retribution</span><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Blessing of Might </span>now costs 19% of base mana, up from 5% of base mana.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Divine Purpose</span>:- The following attacks now have a 7/15% chance to cause your next Holy Power ability to consume no Holy Power and to cast as if 3 Holy Power were consumed. - Divine Storm, Exorcism, Hammer of Wrath, Holy Wrath, Inquisition, Judgement and Templar's Verdict. </li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hand of Light </span>(Mastery) - Your Crusader Strikes, Divine Storm and Templar's Verdicts deal 20% additional Holy Damage. Each point of Mastery increases this value by 2.5%</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Censure </span>no longer breaks Repentance</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;"><strike>Templar's Verdict </span>tooltip now shows 35%/104%/270% weapon damage for 1/2/3 HP.</strike>-<i>Lack of confirmation for one week, removed note</i></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rebuke </span>moved to Baseline</li><li>New Talent: <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sacred Shield </span>- When reduced below 30% health, Paladins gain the Sacred Shield effect. The Sacred Shield absorbs [1+2.8*AP] damage and increases healing received by 20%. Lasts 15 seconds. This effect cannot occur more than once every 30 seconds. Undispellable.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Zealotry </span>is now undispellable</li></blockquote>[see Below]<br /><br /><b>Glyphs</b><br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><li>Glyph of Divine Plea - now adds 6% mana, for a total of 18% over 9 seconds.</li></blockquote><br /><br /><b>Professions</b><br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><li>Meta gems with the <span style="font-weight:bold;">Chaotic </span>and <span style="font-weight:bold;">Relentless </span>prefixes now have a requirement of 3 red gems.</li><li>New meta gems have been added: Agile Shadowspirit Diamond (Agility/3% critical damage), Reverberating Shadowspirit Diamond (Strength/3% critical damage), and Burning Shadowspirit Diamond (Intellect/3% critical damage). These new recipes are unbound and can drop from any Cataclysm creature. The new meta gems have a requirement of 3 red gems equipped.</li><li><span style="font-weight:bold;">Synapse Springs </span>now increase Agility, Strength, or Intellect (whichever is highest for the character).</li><li>Bracer Enchantments with +50 Agility, +50 Intellect and +50 Strength have been added to the in-game files</li></blockquote></blockquote><br /><br />The new Retribution Mastery <b>greatly</b> increases the value of Mastery Rating, probably placing it above Crit and Haste Rating in the stat pecking order by some margin. TV, CS and DS deal more damage per cast, though I think that only Templar's Verdict will have changed positions in the rotation (to more important that Hammer of Wrath and Exorcism). All round, it's VASTLY better than Live's Mastery in absolute terms and scaling.<br /><br />Somewhat disappointingly the change does little to make Divine Storm more attractive over Crusader Strike in AoE situations unless the Hand of Light mechanic has a more subtle interation with CS and DS than we're seeing from the tooltip. <strike>Similarly, the Glyph of Crusader Strike (+5% crit rate to CS) will still be the 4th best Prime because it's unlikely to increase the crit rate of the HoL portion of the damage</strike>.<br /><br />Finally new Divine Purpose, on the face of it, is slightly better than Live Divine Purpose (15% chance of +3 Holy Power rather than 40% change of 1 HP), though GCD conflicts could have an impact which makes them more similar in their DPS contribution. Interestingly Zealotry should be a better fit with this incarnation of the talent than Live as proc'd Holy Power isn't wasted.<br /><br />-There's going to be an impact on rotations as and when it goes Live. Three HP Inquisitions will likely be the order of the day until you get 4 Piece Tier 11, but some analysis needs to be done.<br /><br />All in all, good changes. But remember, this is the PTR and things can change between now and when it's pushed to Live.<br /><br />ADDED: First impressions of the new Mastery, tested as a level80 premade on the PTR, from <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ronark </span>on the Elitist Jerks forums:<br /><br /><blockquote>Hand of Light is classified as an additional damage source. It cannot be dodged, parried, or miss as long as the initial attack lands. Hand of Light damage is calculated after the initial attack swing, and thus will deal no damage and will not be reflected in the Combat Log against targets that were killed by the initial attack (Example- Killing a Critter will only yield in Crusader Strike damage, and no Hand of Light damage).<br /><br />The damage done is based off the damage of the initial attack, and remains constant, meaning that damage boosting effects such as Avenging Wrath does not cause Hand of Light to "double dip" and deal 44% extra damage.<br /><br />Finally, because it is a technically a separate attack, the damage dealt by Hand of Light from using Divine Storm does not contribute to the healing component- The heal is still based on solely the physical damage of Divine Storm.<br /><br />(<a href="http://elitistjerks.com/f76/t110342-retribution_concordance_4_0_3a/p10/#post1834081">Source</a>)</blockquote><br /><br />Hence talents, glyphs and abilities which scale TV, CS and DS directly (noteably Glyphs and Raid Buffs) will increase the Hand of Light damage but HoL shouldn't double-dip. This, couple with the buff to CS, may cause Glyph of CS to edge out the Glyph of Exorcism. Interaction with Inquisition hasn't yet been tested.<br /><br />--<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sacred Shield</span> could be a massive boost to Retribution Paladin survivability in PvP, though to a certain extent it's dependant on the amount absorbed by the Shield. It seems to be utterly passive, which is pretty nice in the same way that old Ardent Defender was pretty nice (see: will get a lot of nerf calls). 2.8*AP doesn't strike me as overpowered, but it is a pretty healthy amount of damage absorbed. I imagine that it'll be present in most 4.0.6 PvP and PvE builds.<br /><br />That it cannot be dispelled is a nice boon for a class used to being nullified in PvP due to over-reliance on Magical buffs.<br /><br />--<br /><br />One last thing to note is that sane Meta Gems requirements will be returning in 4.0.6 and new +Str/3% Crit gems will be added which will have 3 Red requirements. It goes without saying that this will be de-facto Best In Slot.Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-12159696884637478122011-01-06T09:47:00.003+00:002011-01-06T15:55:32.872+00:00Using Inquisition Effectively.During 4.0.1 we all got used to a nice and simple rotation using almost every available GCD if Haste-capped. Now that the haste-cap is pretty much unattainable there's plenty of dead space, throwing timings off and leading to more cooldown watching, rather than less. To address this third-party add-ons are configured specifically to reduce the information overload during encounters, <a href="http://wow.curse.com/downloads/wow-addons/details/clctracker.aspx">CLCInfo</a> (previously CLCRet) being a prime example targeted at Retribution's Rotation, but you shouldn't use them as an excuse to disconnect the brain entirely.<br /><br />One of the weaknesses of the current Retribution Rotation that can cause players to have a brain fart is Inquisition, more specifically when to recast Inquisition. If Holy Power generation was nice and smooth and regular the answer would be pretty trivial, but throwing in the proc mechanics of Divine Purpose and Hand of Light can sometimes throw you for a loop. Because of this, and the strange interaction 4 pc Tier 11 has with the rotation, it's best not to let an add-on do the thinking for you.<br /><br />--<br /><br />The basic rotation/priority system for level 85 Retribution DPS is:<br /><br /><blockquote>Inquisition > Hammer of Wrath > Exorcism > Templar's Verdict > Crusader Strike > Judgement > Holy Wrath > Consecration</blockquote><br /><br />Fairly obviously Inquisition should be up pretty much 100% of the time (expect for periods when you're not DPSing), and it's easier in the basic case to rebuff for a full 30 second duration. Assuming a 3 Holy Power Inquisition is optimal, the longer that buff is up without being re-cast the more resource efficient it is (Both in terms of Holy Power and GCD's used). Unsurprisingly re-casting Inquisition as late as possible requires a certain amount of pre-planning - you don't suddenly have 3 Holy Power to use just because you need it! <br /><br />Laying out the maths is a little over the top, but it works out that <span style="font-weight:bold;">you're okay continuing to spend Holy Power on TV whilst you have more than 6 seconds left on Inquisition</span>. Less than 6 seconds left should mean that you <span style="font-weight:bold;">re-cast Inquisition as soon as have 3 Holy Power or a proc of Hand of Light</span>. <br /><br />The only other important consideration is that first cast of Inquisition upon engaging a boss or if you've allowed the buff to fall off and have zero Holy Power. In these cases it's more important to get the buff up with a solid duration of 20 seconds rather than wait for 3 Holy Power.<br /><br />The time sensitive nature of Inquisition reinforces the need for an Add-on that tracks the buffs duration and displays it conveniently. I use CLCInfo for the purpose mainly because it was handy at the time I was re-learning 4.0 keybinds and tinkering with my UI, but any number of tools like Power Auras, ForteXorcist, ClassTimers and IceHud for RealUI would do the job just as well. Perhaps better in fact as they're designed for that sort of functionality.<br /><br />--<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Special Case- <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/itemset=932">Sapphirium Battleplate</a> 4 Piece Bonus</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_NwR6bNOwyfEvV3cS0lLxvcLp4y5j3PVW8ZAkgbGWmIcDnWFjVkUakLEARl0sUuJy06QAnT3kEKInvhl5UajbI50gZhRJtt_BmXC1pj10HScGYogrKTzAtaMyQhCAVJtTdp39/s1600/T11SetBonus.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 295px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_NwR6bNOwyfEvV3cS0lLxvcLp4y5j3PVW8ZAkgbGWmIcDnWFjVkUakLEARl0sUuJy06QAnT3kEKInvhl5UajbI50gZhRJtt_BmXC1pj10HScGYogrKTzAtaMyQhCAVJtTdp39/s400/T11SetBonus.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559098610327880834" /></a><br /><br />Once you've gathered four parts of your Tier 11 your Inquisitions will last for an additional 10 seconds. You might think that this is license to use 3 Holy Power and only cast it once every 40 seconds, but it's not quite that simple. <br /><br />Inquisition also procs Divine Purpose, with the same frequency no matter the amount of Holy Power used. This means that casting Inquisition using less Holy Power is more efficient from a HP resource perspective - <br /><br /><blockquote>Without 4-Piece, 40% Chance of Holy Power via Divine Purpose Proc per Cast <br /><br />10s Duration - 1 HP Cost - 0.06 HP per second<br />20s Duration - 2 HP Cost - 0.08 HP per second<br />30s Duration - 3 HP Cost - 0.10 HP per second<br /><br />With 4-Piece<br /><br />20s Duration - 1 HP Cost - 0.05 HP per second<br />30s Duration - 2 HP Cost - 0.067 HP per second<br />40s Duration - 3 HP Cost - 0.075 HP per second</blockquote><br /><br />We tend to cast Inquisition every 25-30 seconds because it has the lowest GCD cost. Casting every 15-20 seconds would start to interfere with the cooldown of other abilities especially when Art of War is factored in, and that flexibility is important. With 4 Piece Tier 11 we can make use of this more optimum usage of GCD's but make it 33% more cost-effective under ideal conditions. Subject to the vagaries of an encounter, <b>refreshing Inquisition with 2 Holy Power for 30 second duration is usually better than 3HP for 40</b> whilst still adhering to the rule of looking to rebuff when the duration is < 6 seconds. Of additional non-trivial consideration is that 2HP Inquisitions are far easier to cast - it'll take at worst 2 Crusader Strikes to generate the resources you need, rather than 3. <br /><br />--<br /><br />Remember than none of the above are hard and fast "Laws of Good DPS" to adhere to come hell or high water, I just want to express how key being aware of your timings can be even with something as simple as keeping a buff up. Encounter mechanics will play havoc with your rotation at the best of times, so having a few simple guidelines to follow should help you to concentrate on the encounter more than rotation.<br /><br />It's been stated that Divine Purpose is likely to change in the future, probably eliminating the additional Holy Power proc in favour of moving the Hand of Light Mastery effect into the tree in this position. If mechanics are changed in this fashion you'll be using every Hand of Light Proc on Templar's Verdict and alternating Inquisition with TV as you max out your Holy Power bar. We'll see how the changes play out when they're announced in detail.Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-82768463004569105572010-12-20T18:00:00.001+00:002010-12-20T18:03:26.321+00:00Haste and Retribution, Level 85 ReduxLook back into my blogging past and you'll see a storied history of how Haste has affected the DPS of Retribution Paladins. It used to be awful, then good for Horde Paladins (through Seal of Blood), then good for everyone, then awful again (Blood was killed off /mourn), &c. <br /><br />There should be winners and losers in the stat meta-game and it makes sense for capped Stats (Hit and Expertise) to be better than un-capped ones; Crit and Haste are at least close enough together in value to make stat selection for differing playstyles potentially viable. Rating Inflation - the increasing amount of rating required for 1% effectiveness - has unfortunately meant that high levels of Crit or Haste, where playstyles could be tangibly different, are difficult to reach without reducing overall DPS. Trading Strength for Haste or Crit is simply never a sensible option because Strength is so much more valuable than any secondary stat.<br /><br />Further reading, including a first pass at relative stat valuation - <a href="http://elitistjerks.com/f76/t110342-retribution_concordance_4_0_3a/">The Retribution Concordance: Ret in 4.0.3a</a> At Elitist Jerks.<br /><br />You'll have to excuse my disappointment in this state of affairs. The Ret tree looks tailor-made to take advantage of Haste to really shake up how the spec worked but generally fails to realise any benefits over that of Crit. <br /><br />So why is this? Lets take a look at what Haste Rating does:-<br /><br />1) Via Sanctity of Battle, it decreases the cooldown of Crusader Strike and hence increasing the rate of Holy Power generation. Passive Retribution damage, i.e. damage which is easy to maintain such as auto-attack and DoT damage, is pretty low so maximising your Global Cooldown usage is important. The optimum state to be in is continually on GCD, prioritising your abilities to maximise DPS further.<br /><br />2) Increases Auto-attack speed and DPS to the effect of<br />- Faster Ramp-up on applications of Censure (the Seal of Truth DoT)<br />- Increased Art of War procs per minute by increasing auto-attack speed.<br />- Increased Hand of Light procs per minute by increasing auto-attack speed. <br /><br />3) Increases Censure Damage Over Time.<br /><br />I should note right now that I've never been a fan of SoB. I've always felt that utilising your spare GCD's effectively (wrt utility) was the sign of a better Paladin than one who could merely 'do the job assigned', and SoB makes the DPS trade-off for utility higher than it really should be IMO. Anyway, lets set that aside for now...<br /><br />Most of (2) and all of (3) can be quantified pretty easily, but Sanctity of Battle's value is difficult to assess. It's fascinating to see just how much of our DPS rotates around abilities directly affected by Haste, and yet the stat seemingly has little impact.<br /><br />Reducing the cooldown of CS by 10% should optimally see CS being used 10% more often. I can't say strongly enough that this is faulty analysis. In reality <b>you can only reduce the <span style="font-weight:italic;">effective</span> cooldown of CS if you have a spare GCD to eat into</b>. Spare GCD blocks only occur when you either having absolutely nothing to cast or when skipping an ability to cast CS sooner would make sense. In reality delaying an ability for an earlier CS is rarely worthwhile, CS simply doesn't hit hard enough and Haste doesn't reach high enough levels.<br /><br />Hitting the soft-cap for a 3 second CS cooldown is too often seen as the Holy Grail for Ret, but it encounters two problems that make this attitude unrealistic.<br /><br />a) The Haste Cap. At level 80, and with latency having an effect, the haste soft-cap for a 3 sec CS was a very achieveable ~900 Rating with a spot of Reforging. At 85, with the Latency Fix now in-game, you're now looking at an absurd ~3600 Haste Rating which is unrealistic at Tier 11 gear levels.<br /><br />b) A lower cooldown on CS doesn't change the priority of each ability. Neither Crusader Strike nor Templar's Verdict are the highest priority in Retribution's rotation at current gear levels as both Art of War Exorcism <b>and</b> Hammer of Wrath do more damage-per-cast than either ability even after you consider the Holy Power generated. Rigidly sticking to a 3-sec CS cooldown can result in a DPS loss if there's no flexibility to take advantage of Procs and Hammer of Wrath.<br /><br />The strength of 3-sec CS was always predicated on Templar's Verdict and CS being very strong DPS contributions, but nerfs to both abilities late in Beta put pay to it. The even when the soft-cap is reached you'll struggle to see anything like a 1 sec reduction in the effective cooldown of CS or the knock-on 7% more Templar's Verdicts because of Hand of Light and Art of War Procs.<br /><br />The jury, to some extent, is still out on Haste whilst RAWR is being updated to 4.0 environment. Right now, it's probably best to invest in Crit and Haste roughly equally once Hit and Expertise caps have been reached in case of strong diminishing returns.<br /><br />At least it's not as bad as Mastery though, right? ;)Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-13753864233575497612010-12-15T13:08:00.006+00:002010-12-15T18:09:27.949+00:00Uldum Loremaster - Dirty Birds and PhasingUldum is one of those rare Zones where the storyline actively encourages the completion of almost every quest, no matter how trivial or minor. Lucky thing too, there are almost exactly as many quests in Uldum (108) as are needed for <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=4872">Unearthing Uldum</a> (the Cataclysm Loremaster achievement for the zone).<br /><br /><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 70px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiApjywub9z16yhtuHDFxWDXuou83v6ycPGqzjIl_e8uHQPW-5dijYko6Dp4JWdSEmIfLkEjumunZ2M4RIk9RzDZArUlkpGBenmYPkBjsX03PTR1wKts6AP4g3KZ5Fr3Tx2iBNj/s400/UldumAchieve.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550909769452507042" border="0" /><br /><br />Note the qualifier - "almost". There are three quests which could easily be missed as you progress, one of which is very difficult to complete once you've passed a certain milestone in the Harrison Jones story due to phasing. All start when you kill a particular creature for the first time. You will need at least two of these three quests to reach 108 for the zone.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wowhead.com/quest=27187">Do the World a Favour</a> - Kill 12 Mangy Hyena's in the area south of Khartut's Tomb in NE Uldum. I don't think this quest has any significant phasing issues, but it's best to do it soon after starting the Harrison Jones quest line when you're ordered to killed Pygmy's in the area.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wowhead.com/quest=27627">Just a Fancy Cockroach</a> - Kill 5 of each colour Scarab inside the Obelisk of the Stars. Starts when you kill any colour Scarab but can sometimes bug out, requiring you to kill a particular colour to start it. Complete whilst on the Harrison Jones quest line.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wowhead.com/quest=27940">Dirty Birds</a> - Kill 8 Diseased Vultures in the Cradle of the Ancients. I'd advise you complete it when you're in the area for the first few Commander Schnottz quests because later phases in the Harrison Jones quest line remove all Diseased Vultures in the area. All is not lost if you're unlucky enough to be in the wrong phase.<br /><br />You should note that if you're outside the Cradle looking in you can see the Vultures, which often fly around the edges of the phased area. Classes with 40yrd range attacks should be able to kill them at range and complete the quest relatively easily. Melee-based characters will find things a little more difficult because of the general 20 yard range limitation on their abilities (Paladin Exorcism, Warrior Taunts etc.), but there are a few ledges just outside the Cradle from which you can pull Vultures.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN_8rkUpNGXSHgkcL60fLPJ_P0n-Lh2bR9ans_sNQEOJPh9QmIDfox1QNFfQs_KwSFIoRpfwJFKS0cIdrj25I1e8jlzDKO9fyRQNvGSUdkAPSQClRtUd-Sk9WDWFaKP0131Z46/s1600/VultureKill1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN_8rkUpNGXSHgkcL60fLPJ_P0n-Lh2bR9ans_sNQEOJPh9QmIDfox1QNFfQs_KwSFIoRpfwJFKS0cIdrj25I1e8jlzDKO9fyRQNvGSUdkAPSQClRtUd-Sk9WDWFaKP0131Z46/s400/VultureKill1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550906697326717330" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Ledge on NW Side of Cradle of the Ancients from which you can pull Vultures.</span><br /></span></div><br />It takes a while because you have to wait for re-spawns, but at least the option exists until the phase is fixed.<br /><br />Hope that helps you out if you're having any issues.<br /><br />---<br /><br />ADDED: From <a href="http://www.hazmacewillraid.com/2010/12/getting-raid-ready-at-85/">Antigen</a> in comments:<br /><br /><blockquote>Also, after you've done the quests up at the Obelisk of the Moon where you carpet bomb the camps and hurt the dragon that pats around there, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=48428">Myzerian</a>, you can either skillfully solo or group up and kill the dragon and loot <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=63700">its' head</a>, which starts a quest that counts toward the achievement.<br /><br />That quest, "<a href="http://www.wowhead.com/quest=28376">Myzerian's Head</a>" rewards three blue-quality gems and healthy amounts of gold and XP, so it's worth doing even at 85, IMO.</blockquote><br /><br />Thanks Antigen!Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-9118518052636905342010-12-09T04:45:00.026+00:002010-12-20T11:43:41.392+00:00Archaeology - A Primer<i>The following is very much a first pass at the profession. Feel free to notify me of anything that would be useful. Sorry for placeholders for pics, they will be added to soon.<br /><br />UPDATED - Max number of Fragments per Cache is 3 (slvl 75-525). Dig Sites in Hyjal/Uldum count towards your 4 in Kalimdor, Twilight Highlands Dig Sites are part of your 4 for Eastern Kingdoms.<br /><br />UPDATE 2 - Dealing with bugged Dig-site (see Troubleshooting)<br /><br />UPDATED 3 - 14/12/2010 Hotfix: Fragment Caches can contain between 3 and 6 Fragments rather than just 3<br /><br />UPDATED 4 - Daily quests for buffs in 5-man dungeons have been in the game for some time, requiring a race's Keystone. See <a href="http://wowdigsite.com/quests/">this post</a> on the excellent <a href="http://wowdigsite.com/">WoW Dig Site</a> resource for more info.</i><br /><br />Archaeology is a new secondary Profession (like Cooking and Fishing) implemented in, and requiring, the Cataclysm Expansion. The aim is to compete a series of Research Projects, studies which give you some insight into long ago stories and lore, and in the process perhaps even create a functional artefact unique to the profession. Generally speaking it's fairly slow to level and provides no more day-to-day benefit than Fishing, but the pay-off if you're lucky can be pretty cool. Achievement chasers will be pleased to know that there is a whole new category just for this Profession.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Profession Basics</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Learning the Profession</span><br /><br />Like all secondary professions Archaeology can be learned at any major city. The best way to find the exact location of a trainer is to ask a guard in a capital city, but <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/search?q=archaeology+trainer">here</a> is a full list of trainers with linked maps.<br /><br />The Archaeology window can be found in via the Professions tab of your Skills window (default hotkey: P). From here you can see the current progress of your Research Projects and access a list of completed projects including lore flavour.<br /><br /><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 387px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyg8lAQ8FTNuASfc4o-fRb28kUnAAinduATziWVGXa-kvfZmCkK9lf_C0B4C-K828qktrYmcnjESXqFvpzSZNr3P-uSX_HJNK9htORkwjUTfs7rfYl74qxRV0JK49NZRRUkXXo/s400/ProfTab.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548525529842957074" border="0" /><br /><br />Your primary tool for Archaeology is the <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=80451">Survey</a> action, which guides you to the Fragment Caches within a Dig Site.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Where Do I Dig?</span><br /><br />Once you have learnt Archaeology a new feature will appear on your continental maps for Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms - four small trowels per map. These maps are 'Dig Sites', and represent small locations where Fragment Caches are known to exist. Unfortunately, you can't just dig anywhere!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-QguCPvqQoeCn7ayvBEoo_OuAKLH47XLZauYQvrH8eZFkcOUd_18na_epoq8H3BOkFI7kgGEsFnIjL59ryJXHmU_MbiiN9JthTZPn31mPmvDYL5LDhPqGBpqYM44qT9ahejeq/s1600/Kalimdor2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-QguCPvqQoeCn7ayvBEoo_OuAKLH47XLZauYQvrH8eZFkcOUd_18na_epoq8H3BOkFI7kgGEsFnIjL59ryJXHmU_MbiiN9JthTZPn31mPmvDYL5LDhPqGBpqYM44qT9ahejeq/s400/Kalimdor2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548541489058018194" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Map of Kalimdor with Dig Sites in Un'Goro Crater, Tanaris,<br />the Southern Barrens and Aszhara</span><br /></div><br />Clicking on the Zone will zoom you to the Zone Map, which will show you a more detailed representation of where you can Dig in that zone.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2QFpi-PECfpKwAUOpFNQ8kDNnVsCPuMwBXoPpw6l6Dc3fRCzox-H_kPojgCnQrQPec2jYPIpII59vb5Fgal3zlobPucJXckv5KA7FVw5CA1WrxYQou3Et3zkk-tgdl-p2TcX2/s1600/Crater.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2QFpi-PECfpKwAUOpFNQ8kDNnVsCPuMwBXoPpw6l6Dc3fRCzox-H_kPojgCnQrQPec2jYPIpII59vb5Fgal3zlobPucJXckv5KA7FVw5CA1WrxYQou3Et3zkk-tgdl-p2TcX2/s400/Crater.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548529414031099074" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><blockquote><li>Kalimdor - Minimum Skill Level = 1 - Night Elf, Troll, Fossil and (infrequently) Dwarven Dig Sites</li><li>Eastern Kingdoms - Minimum Skill Level = 1 - Dwarven, Troll, Fossil and (infrequently) Night Elf Dig Sites</li><li>Outland - Minimum Skill Level = 300 - Orcish and Draenei Dig Sites</li><li>Northrend - Minimum Skill Level = 375 - Vrykul, Nerubian, Night Elf and Troll Dig Sites</li><li>Uldum - Minimum Skill Level = 450 - Tol'vir Dig Sites (Counts towards the 4 total Kalimdor Dig Sites)</li></blockquote><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">How do I Dig?</span><br /><br />Once you've reached a Dig Site you're ready to start Surveying. Each dig site contains three <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fragment Caches </span>which only you will see and interact with; no-one can steal your Fragments. Firstly, activate the Survey ability.<br /><br /><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 185px; height: 197px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz2vtYVUTXkC1Qi75P8gbE1MLgoWShmUjHspwRzHWP1Khmv9438-Z4HFtEWJGmDwKPSWcfrmvITsaLyjAGJMBt55-mzU-DBZocwQnAipcrq0cNdNGO9sLnRBvMLKVtgO5AdTfo/s400/Theodolite.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548543732139024162" border="0" /><br /><br />A theodolite (tripod with an eyeglass on top) will appear with its' eyeglass pointing in a particular direction and a glowing antenna in one of three colours:-<br /><br />1. <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Red </span>- Your Fragment Cache is more than 100 Yards away. The error margin for your eyeglass is huge, almost 90 degrees in either direction. Follow the direction of the eyeglass ~150 yards and then re-Survey.<br /><br />2. <span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 0);">Yellow </span>- Your Fragment Cache is between 100 and 40 yards away. Your eyeglass now points in roughly the right direction, and has an error margin of 20 degrees in either direction. Follow and re-Survey ~70 yards<br /><br />3. <span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Green </span>- Your Fragment Cache is very close (within 40 yards) and the eyeglass points in the almost exactly the right direction. Re-survey at ~20 yards.<br /><br />Repeat your Surveying until you've found your Fragment Cache. Using Survey when you're within 10 or so yards of your Cache will unearthed it.<br /><br />The key to narrowing down the location of your cache quickly is dealing with Red results, and with that in mind here are a few rules of thumb:<br /><br />1. Start in the middle of the dig site - you'll eliminate a large proportion of the site whatever the result.<br /><br />2. Red results eliminate the area directly behind the theodolite. Multiple Red results chained together should be thought of as gradually cordoning off an area within which the dig site would be. This is especially important for the largest dig sites, in Tanaris, Unbound Thicket etc.<br /><br />3. In my experience there are areas where Caches usually aren't, most obviously within walls, under water, impassible cliffs and outside the dig site. Use these obstacles to narrow down your search further.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What do I Get?</span><br /><br />From Profession Level 1-75 Fragment Caches contain 2 Fragments and thereafter you gain between 3 and 6 Fragments for the category of Dig Site you're surveying, for example Jaedenar in Felwood will always uncover Night Elf Research Fragments. Dwarven Racial bonus grants you one additional Fragment per Cache. These fragments aren't stored as items in your inventory, but as currency visible in your Research Tab. <b>Fragments are never wasted</b> - if you have too many fragments for a Project they'll be rolled over into your next Project.<br /><br />Additionally you may also get a <span style="font-weight: bold;">Keystone </span>in a Cache like the <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=63127">Highborne Scroll</a>. Hang on to them even if you can't use them right away, they're worth a dozen Fragments in compatible Research Projects. Be careful though, they can be traded and sold to vendors.<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Research and Keystones</span><br /><br />Nine different research categories are currently available: Troll, Night Elf, Dwarf, Orc, Draenai, Fossil, Vrykul, Nerubian and Tol'vir. (Yes, there's a 10th icon... no, I don't know what it does yet).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8FzBPLdT4EpYUmbAstU7NRqs-2v4emoeU1i3gYQGYvWMeF-SLc8E0-exAKiK0Ej_XPtAvUIN_Keyh_Vu7cjQXfZW-7ieb6rEdQQFP3vwy6mAr0QmDzQB6ZEu4B5ub81fo22w/s1600/CategoryPage.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 364px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8FzBPLdT4EpYUmbAstU7NRqs-2v4emoeU1i3gYQGYvWMeF-SLc8E0-exAKiK0Ej_XPtAvUIN_Keyh_Vu7cjQXfZW-7ieb6rEdQQFP3vwy6mAr0QmDzQB6ZEu4B5ub81fo22w/s400/CategoryPage.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548531329085574578" border="0" /></a><br /><br />When you collect a Fragment it's attributed to the Research Project for a corresponding category. Don't worry, there's no fiddling with backpacks required, they're counted as a currency for storage purposes and it's all done automatically. Once you have collected the required number of fragments for that Project you may choose to 'Solve' it, creating the item associated with the project. These items can be kept, or sold on to generate a small amount of cash.<br /><br /><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 369px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0KwrARM2q8XR1yuAta6H23OtaNQuyUUPU397nEAbGXvMoOtDbzMf5Cz4bDX9dEdATP7oNBy4V-1K6-TF4mRkvgXa1ngMqFIDJ3pbFhD_9XhwCrlDTqabcdyUPHXxJULcTDTUc/s400/Progress.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548532293794836610" border="0" /><br /><br />Some projects can be solved more quickly via the use of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Keystones</span>. These projects have a number of hexagonal slots below the progression bar within which you can place a Keystone just before you click to solve. Each Keystone boosts your progression by 12 fragments, more than the value of a whole dig site. If you have the opportunity to use a Keystone to solve a project you should always take full advantage of it, there's no reason not to.<br /><br /><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 360px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH5VCou_pOlcrDAVmO2PXq9WnDRw7ZRxMYidKBAwimYUT6i_ZgPM0IpvrNmRSYHiu2UhxYWMUuiC4xu7auqtKMbJFmLKVSkX5Acnl3d9jNJLBh9oWHEz_1LTqVnFt2ZnwDRmdC/s400/Keystone.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548532735200656162" border="0" /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Look closely, this Project has two Keystone slots.<br />The second is greyed out until you've placed a Keystone in the first slot</span>.</span><br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Resulting Artefacts</span><br /><br />Most Projects create 'Common' (Grey) items which can be safely vendored. Details of the Artefact including additional flavour text are stored in your 'Completed Projects' tab.<br /><br /><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 347px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUq_S_tF7ipopFizIfOe7UwhAGX7bVwOpdzdjG81BoREFPEfKegB-hHCnrf660_EqfLPmDF0JCnsq7YQ6RImg4V9iOsBPG2lOq_3ceAGrTkEt7usqbHf4mOpF4Gks3fjs9PpJ/s400/Completed.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548534586422287810" border="0" /><br /><br />Sometimes these common artefacts are linked in common a narrative, and uncovering all these artefacts will net you an Achievement. One such story is '<a href="http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=5191">The Tragedy in Three Acts</a>', the tale of Pyramond and Theleste.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rare Project Artefacts</span><br /><br /><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZczF5upzogJL2d4mRxbtQcCf8BoTpR6-vxmwDB47sP6Hh7FUMuOYf9EMQddsssysxhQ34tziKOLy1TBJFbfv3Gs5d5NXEij6J9Xlc4mi9e7MOvWMQ6h8Rt40HPfTZxPEqjvVo/s400/JanaRaptorPet.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548535531525245026" border="0" /><br /><br />A few Research Projects are 'Rare', and instead of resulting in a Common item have Rare or Epic rewards. Rare projects typically required substantially more Fragments to complete, but also often have multiple Keystone slots to ease the project along.<br /><br /><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 364px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHYeDaxTU1QB-WMaBd-dxkCTZBwgwR5_fzl5chwCjTBZRdVDRxQrJFkN5W8362W-6tVDlMl91cJBfYJ-fbcJJKhFPDvI4FvlwkgUMfoGCt2sYjCAM87FAY2SPKbGPqn1yWhAm/s400/ArchaeAxe.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548543987130035042" border="0" /><br /><br />There's no way to predict when a Rare project will become available, though the rare projects available to you may depend on you Archaeology skill. For reference, I gained the Fossillized Hatchling project at approx. skill level 150 and Queen Aszhara's Dressing Gown project at 250. If you're after a particular Rare item, such as the upgraded <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=64377">Zin'rokh, Destroyer of Worlds</a>, tailor your continent to that Category (in this case, Eastern Kingdoms for Troll Ruins).<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Levelling Strategies.</span></span><br /><br />Completing a Survey and looting Fragments can generate skill points in Archaeology up to 100, though 95+ tends to be very infrequent. Solving a Research Project grants 5 skill points. Fragments are <b>never wasted</b>, and so those seeking to maximise the speed of levelling should not solve Projects until they've reached 100.<br /><br />Rare Projects are generally poor for levelling the skill, though the item you'd gain may be worthwhile. If you're seeking to maximise levelling speed avoid continents heavy in your Rare Projects' Category.<br /><br />Alternatively, those seeking to level the skill as their character levels should be aware that looting fragments generates a non-trivial amount of XP (modified by the Rested bonus). Level 80 characters seeking to power-level the Profession will gain enough XP to at least level to 83, and normal Alt levelling progression may be significantly affected by the amount of XP you gain. Two gathering professions and Archaeology could easily grant you enough XP to out-level zones you were planning to experience.<br /><br />You can level all the way up to 525 on one continent if you so desire. Just like Fishing, the location Surveyed or Project completed has no bearing on skill point gain.<br /><br />Fast Mounts are well worth their gold. Travelling between dig sites and survey points are the most significant uses of time when levelling, and mounts allow you to traverse between dig sites and survey points at speed. At low levels your Archaeology progression will be stymied significantly by a lack of fast mount and flying.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Troubleshooting</span><br /><br /></span>You may rarely come across a Survey where your Cache is inaccessible, either through being in the middle of an obstacle or outside the bounds of the dig site. When this happens, move on to another Dig Site and gain your fragments from that location <b>and then return to the bugged Site</b>. Depleting a dig site re-sets the position of Caches in all Sites, so with any luck that bugged Cache will have moved to an accessible location.Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-7212453333809957592010-11-30T18:30:00.001+00:002010-11-30T18:30:00.655+00:00New Nitro Boost Includes a Painful Backfire.I love Engineering, you love Engineering. And so it pains me to say that there's been a bout of mass amnesia during the events of the Shattering (probably from too much <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=67839">Mind Amplification</a>) and everyone seems to have forgotten how to make Nitro Boots. Goblins and Gnomes have rushed to bring a quick substitute to the marketplace of innovation, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=55016">Nitro Boosts</a>, with rather mixed results.<br /><br />The first thing to note is that Nitro's are no longer a Boot augmentation, they now take up the Belt tinker slot in which you may previously have had the Frag Belt/Spyglass. No, I don't think that a speed boost coming from your belt is at all logical either, but I won't be complaining too much. The upshot is: you can now use regular Enchants such as Greater Assault on your boots (Yay!) but lose the use of Frag Grenades (Boo). At a very reasonable 6 Volatile Triggers and 6 Handfuls of Cobalt Bolts, Nitro Boosts are hardly likely to break the bank and <i>would</i> be a no brainer.<br /><br />I say 'would be', because there's now a couple of pretty big downsides to this Engineering augment. Backfire rates are up, way up, and can now occur in Raids and Battlegrounds. At level 80 there are some reports that the tinker is backfiring more often than it's actually working, but under normal circumstances the tinker would still be well worth it. <br /><br />The second pieces to this horrid puzzle is a new additional backfire effect. No longer will Nitro backfires only throw you up in the air and deploy a parachute for a nice and soft landing, you additionally may get <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=94794">the following debuff</a> in BGs and Raids:- <br /><br /><a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=94794"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 392px; height: 208px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-AxuENSCtJUe-x_k9ce84kToA_Aj-KSvV8SwdyAXn5zEAwDglZMwT60uap-TvH9l0elMjBT6eBdO5YE34fa5CWs19_9ZW7DDLdNSWVR3niZ4IxLVjS8SaxcTXBRaxLUCDHD4Q/s400/FuelLeak.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545404466327086242" /></a><br /><br />Yes, that's 120% of your Maximum Health over 8 seconds, otherwise known as 'ouch'. The idea was probably to discourage the highest-end raiding guilds from stacking this profession simply for the Boots, but now using the boots is just too damn risky unless the levels of healing flying around is huge. I'm tempted to suggest that Blizzard adjusted the backfire rate for >lvl80 and inadvertently upped the level 80 backfire rate. If you're an Engineer you may want to consider just using the Frag Belt for now.<br /><br />It's a shame really, Nitro Boots were a massive boon to melee specs in Wrath (especially for 'stay out of the Defile' moments) and a very competitive profession in end-game raiding if you looked beyond the pure numbers. In Cataclysm it's a shadow of its' former self for melee dps, though Casters will gain the very strong +480 Intellect/12 sec <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=82175">Synapse Springs</a> and Tanks an armour cooldown in the form of <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=82177">Quickflip Deflection Plates</a>. As times goes on Engineering remains pretty weak for Retribution, and without at the very least a lvl85 speed boost (with associated low backfire rates that do much less damage) it may well be one to avoid if you're a top-flight Raider.Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-33314922430672174322010-11-18T14:22:00.007+00:002011-01-15T04:55:49.836+00:00More Damage Via Tradeskills - Retribution Professions in CataclysmEDIT: Made a few updates based on corrected information. Doesn't change Profession priority.<br /><br />EDIT2: Tentatively included the changes in 4.0.6 patch notes which would have an singificant effect on the value of the professions, namely changes to Bracer Enchants and the Synapse Springs Engineering Tinker.<br /><br />Upon the Shattering you'll have the chance to roll a new character and experience a new adventure in Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. Some few of you (very few I should think by now) will be levelling a brand new Paladin, and a sub-set of those will be Retribution and levelled to engage in end-game content. In this endeavour, it behoves you to choose your professions wisely and maximise your potential. To that end the following is a brief run-down of the options available to you and their relative value:<br /><br />1) <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spells=11.165"><b>Leatherworking</b></a>.<br /><br />**** UPDATE: In 4.0.6 (build currently on the PTR servers as of 11/01) Bracer Enchants for +50 Intellect/Agility/Strength are being added to the game files. Leatherworking will be once more on a par with Blacksmithing, Inscription, Jewelcrafting, Enchanting and Alchemy. *****<br /><br />Previously, Leatherworking is been somewhat overlooked by Retribution Paladins in search of more bang for their tradeskill buck. Not any more however as the profession gets four new wrist slot enhancements worth 130 of your Primary stat, with a Strength option for Plate DPS. Tanks have the option of a well-budgeted equivalent - <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=85007">195 Stamina</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=85009"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 385px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikBlQPnpNqSwYZitfOAn0IYBVS81UF0urVfeqK7ye2vN_vlVRLxRlkhbxobED9CgUWyp95i3ymTsliYflY2RCOBmyezYxZMbinyzseZj1gPklP1RYLqcaT8pGcMMa8YCFNfuvz/s400/LeatherworkingStrength.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540875937988032034" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Budget-wise the profession isn't over-valued, it replaces level 85 Wrist Enchantments which are up to +65 in a Secondary stat. Par for other professions (which can utilise wrist enchantments) is +80 in a Primary stat, so you could even argue that it's under-budget. However given that in Ret's case Strength is worth ~100% more than Crit or Haste Rating (the best 65 Rating Enchantments) and 33% more than Hit Rating (<a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=74232">50 Stat enchantment</a>) Leatherworking is obviously slightly better. In fact, any class which values a Primary stat >33% more than Crit or Haste Rating will find that Leatherworking is the best profession for them.<br /><br />2) <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spells=11.197">Tailoring</a></span><br /><br />Tailoring is at least the second best or perhaps even the best Profession to take if you're eager to maximise your DPS, it's all down to the as-yet unknown proc rate of <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=75178">Swordguard Embroidery Rank 2</a>. Like Leatherworking it replaces a +65 Crit enchantment, though casters also have the option of a highly rated +50 Intellect enchantment to their cloak instead.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=75178"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 385px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdw8Gh9ORvkna-mIxWCDMo9bKDl0BJjKDImzIwg6e3xwj8SzGFK2SQbFlVm7U9JrJO4jV_IL4bNe1UgA6uMjdgKOApJo9vz9X6nKqKVhXyqvoaN5WRYHhTRmkrIrcOiRnrMxg/s400/TailoringSwordguard.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540878312427738898" border="0" /></a><br /><br />If this enhancement follows the mechanics of its' WotLK equivalent it will have an 45 second internal cooldown and very high proc rate, generally modelled as a 15 second up-time with 50 second cooldown. This averages to around 300AP, the equivalent of ~135 Strength, more if synchronised with cooldowns such as Avenging Wrath.<br /><br />3) <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spells=11.164">Blacksmithing</a>, <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spells=11.333">Enchanting</a>, <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spells=11.773">Inscription</a>, <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spells=11.755">Jewelcrafting</a>, <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spells=11.171">Alchemy</a>.</span><br /><br />Each of these Professions, in their own way, provide a bonus of exactly 80 Strength (or 80 of your primary stat if you're not Plate DPS). Blacksmithing allows you to add a socket to <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=55641">gloves</a> and <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=55628">wrists</a> for a total bonus of <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=73335">+40 Strength</a> each. Enchanting has a +40 Strength Ring enchant. Inscription trades a <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/item=62345">+50 Str/+25 Crit shoulder enhancement</a> for a <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=86401">+130 Str/+25 Crit one</a>. Jewelcrafting has <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=73396">+67 Strength Epic</a> gems available (the +67 is rounded up, three net you 200 Strength total). Alchemy's passive benefit of increased effectiveness for flasks grants you the extra 80 Strength when you imbibe a <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/item=58088">Flask of Titanic Strength</a>.<br /><br />Ancillary benefits, such as the ability to craft your own gear or generate gold, should therefore factor into your decision. Jewelcrafting and Inscription are without doubt the better gold generators and Inscription is just about the most interesting of the four in terms of '<a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=89367">other things</a>' it can create. Enchanting doesn't really require a gathering profession to support it, making it ideal if you're rerolling fresh on a new realm. Blacksmithing in theory allows you to make what you craft, but raw materials are costly and crafted items can usually be bought from the AH anyway.<br /><br />4) <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spells=11.202">Engineering</a></span><br /><br />*** Patch 4.0.6 features a change to the Synapse Springs tinker. It will increase your Primary Stat (Strength in Retribution's Case) by 480 for 10 Seconds (1 min cooldown) rather than Intellect, pushing Engineering from one of the worst professions for this spec to one of the best. The Engineering Tinker recipes are randomly discovered as you craft your way to 525 profession skill ***<br /><br />It's not looking good for our old pal. A Primary stat boost on the order of +80 in the glove tinker slot would place it in the leagues of Leatherworking and Tailoring but only <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=82175">Intellect is represented</a>. Melee DPS are lumbered with a rehash of the rocket-glove, the <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=82180">Tazik Shocker</a>. Used on cooldown (every 2 minutes) it's pretty much a flat 40 DPS increase, modified slightly by Avenging Wrath. This activated ability could be boosted to a 45 second cooldown in the future to match that of the rocket-glove, so if you already have very high level Engineering (400+) it's probably worth holding out for a bit before jumping into a better profession.<br /><br />There's no <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=55016">Nitro Boost</a> boot tinker for Cataclysm, and using the current one has a high backfire rate outside of Raid zones. On the other hand unlike WotLK Nitro Boosts <span style="font-weight: bold;">do</span> stack with boot enchants, though they no longer have an additional 24 Crit Rating bonus.<br /><br /><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 116px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsTJWbctTkio7oCsjL52LB0HaFea89d210zGME1Zno2YEUHoHCT5ejfmKg0W9rG9xFfFBxdXaiGIdvwR1lSD30SXiffEqkIcDo-ezMVhjQ24QcalP5i3veOXQVNCw1yyWA-W-A/s400/EngShades.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540925924464033122" border="0" />I should probably also mention the new Engineering Goggles. This time around they're item level 359, the same as Tier 11, and have a stat budget commensurate with that. Retribution has access to the <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/item=59359">Reinforced Bio-Optic Killshades</a>, a set of plate +Strength goggles with a Meta and two <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/search?q=cogwheel">Cogwheel sockets</a>. Cogwheels are an engineering-only gem type which feature 208 Rating of a Secondary Stat of your choice, allowing slightly better customisation though obviously reforging won't be an option. Whilst they're unlikely to be better overall than dropped Tier 11 Helms they will allow you to gear up more quickly than you otherwise would be able to if you're willing to shell out the gold on Materials. More casual players with less consistent access to raiding environments should appreciate this.<br /><br />Currently Engineering is in a pretty bad way, but a Profession parse before the first major patch would hopefully alleviate much of the issue. If you're rolling a new Paladin it may be best to avoid it, especially as many of the most useful utility tinkers are being prohibited in Rated Battlegrounds.<br /><br />5) <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spells=11.393">Skinning</a>, <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spells=11.182">Herbalism</a></span><br /><br />Maximum proficiency in Skinning grants you <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=74495">Master of Anatomy</a> Rank 7 which increases your Crit Rating by 80. It's definitely not the most optimal of professions, and should probably only be taken if you intend to sate the voracious leather requirements of other characters.<br /><br />Similarly Herbalism is only really suitable if you're looking to invest in herb-dependant tradeskills on other characters, primarily Alchemy and Inscription. Skilled Herbalists gain <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=74497">Lifeblood Rank 8</a>, a buff granting 480 Haste rating for 20 seconds on a 2 minute cooldown.<br /><br />6) <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spells=11.186">Mining</a></span><br /><br />Very simple. <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=74496">Toughness</a> Rank 7 grants you 120 additional Stamina and is gained when you max out the Mining skill at 525. This is a profession ideal for tanks, not for DPS or Healers.<br /><br /><br />--<br /><br />So there are your options. I certainly wouldn't beat yourself up if you don't have the two absolutely most optimal professions available to you, but if you're still using gathering professions you may want to replace it favour of the better ones.<br /><br />A point to note: as we up the gear Tiers to a higher value of Gem all the professions will probably be adjusted to compensate, staying the same relative strength. On the other hand if a new range of ultra-power wrist enchants with the a high budget and utilising Primary stats is released the value of the major crafting professions could be turned on their head.<br /><br />As always, choose the best fit for you, and enjoy!Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-16214742567756620482010-11-15T21:25:00.014+00:002010-11-16T01:38:48.958+00:00Paladin Tier 11 - First ImpressionsBoubouille at MMO-Champion has <a href="http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/2073-Patch-4.0.3-this-week-Tier-11-All-Races-Classes-Preview-MMO-Report-Comics">just posted</a> High Definition pictures of the final armour models for Tier 11, and my goodness are they a hodge-podge of styles. Without doubt Mages got the best of the lot, followed by Druids and probably Death Knights. Those with the short-end of the stick are Warriors (HAH!) and Rogues, though Hunters looking like they've spent a lot of time on their <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglerfish">anglerfish</a> trick-or-treat costume.<table style="text-align: left; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" border="1"><tbody><tr><td><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3GWo4qnoSu-EA62zLiXQwcE8aHsD4haIkHMtnCu-o0ghiAt2s2NZ-i760xg82BO1HMWfPStnyVvHRwhYXZWoVFI6rmw4Nm2-wCCxmNxvvWlh8rbX0z0q7zQKVjDT1Et1vgi4j/s400/Tier11Pala_Human.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539870035164082946" border="0" /></td><td><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsiG6Q5IpZiX-AV7_gEuhKSBCLc2d-25mw2duN64KcyQ8TWMhvNvzS1vAOEpLAXNfP9EtdSidDC_pJNWC-3tySyPOsG0tPevRStyh2fMA2Fke87aXKtJQjQIqpmucDAiNCepdV/s400/Tier11Pala_BE_f.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539870416045948338" border="0" /></td><br /></tr><br /></tbody></table><br />Paladins are somewhat middle of the pack. Most sets look better in-game than they do in screenshots and Reinforced Sapphirium is no exception, though more discerning Paladins may want to turn off helm graphics. It's certainly no Judgement or Lightbringer even in its' preferable white and gold colour scheme, but neither is it the obscenity that was Crystalforged.<br /><br />Anyway, lets take a look at the Sets in more detail:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/itemset=932">Retribution - Reinforced Sapphirium Battleplate</a></span><br /><br /><table style="text-align: left; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" border="1"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight: bold;">Strength</td><td>1349</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight: bold;">Stamina</td><td>2296</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight: bold;">Hit Rating</td><td>337</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight: bold;">Expertise Rating</td><td>168</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight: bold;">Crit Rating</td><td>228</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight: bold;">Haste Rating</td><td>754</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight: bold;">Mastery Rating</td><td>377</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Hit, Mastery and Haste are strongly represented; Expertise and Crit much less so. The weakness of Mastery as a Stat for Ret makes it a prime choice to reforge away, especially in the leg slot which alone features a whopping 228. Remember, you can only Reforge into a secondary stat which isn't already present on the item, so choose carefully.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Set Bonuses.</span><br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">2 Piece</span>- Increases the damage of your Templar's Verdict ability by 10%<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4 Piece</span>- When you cast Inquisition its' duration is calculated as if you had one additional Holy Power.</blockquote><br /><br />The 2-Piece bonus is pretty straight-forward - Templar's Verdict represents around 20% of your damage at level 85, so it's worth a straight 1.5-2% of your damage. That's not quite as good as previous set bonuses for the class, but not bad overall.<br /><br />By contrast the 4 piece bonus is harder to quantify. Inquisition is a better alternative than Templar's Verdict only if you refresh it after 17 seconds on a 3 Holy Power cast. In one aspect the 4-Piece bonus is therefore a quality of life bonus, but on the other hand it frees up one GCD every 2 minutes or allows you to cast TV sooner. The gents over at EJ have calculated that this effect is worth another ~2%, but this will be greatly dependant on gaps in the GCD-Space and hence Haste. The more Haste you have, the more worthwhile it becomes.<br /><br />Each of the above bonuses are worth more than a typical upgrade to a Heroic version (i.e. 13 ilvls). If you have 4 non-Heroic (ilvl 359) Set pieces it's not worth breaking the Set until you have at least two Heroic (ilvl 372) alternatives to those slots.<br /><br />Overall, I'd prefer it if the Set bonuses were swapped. I'm aware of the compelling reasons for having the simple bonus from 2 pieces; being able to easily quantify if set items are upgrades makes Badges/Point hoarding in advance of an elusive break-point less likely. However I quite like the idea of changing-up the rotation as early as possible, as Tier 10 used to, which leads to some very interesting gearing options at Tier 12 as and when we get there.<br /><br />All in all it's not a bad set, even if it does lack the wow-factor of previous Tiers.<br /><br />--<span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /><a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/itemset=934"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Protection - Reinforced Sapphirium Battlearmour</span></a></span><br /><br /><table style="text-align: left; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" border="1"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight: bold;">Strength</td><td>1327</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight: bold;">Stamina</td><td>2296</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight: bold;">Hit Rating</td><td>241</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight: bold;">Expertise Rating</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight: bold;">Dadge Rating</td><td>682</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight: bold;">Parry Rating</td><td>505</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight: bold;">Mastery Rating</td><td>257</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />The Paladin tanking sets strongly favour Dodge and Parry, as you might expect. Somewhat surprising is the complete lack of Expertise and relatively low levels of Hit. Capping Hit and Expertise will prove fairly challenging, especially if you choose not to take the Glyph of Seal of Truth.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Set Bonuses.</span><br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">2 Piece</span> - Increases the damage done by your Crusader Strike ability by 10%.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4 Piece</span> - Increases the duration of your Guardian of Ancient Kings ability by 50%.<br /></blockquote><br />No doubt <a href="http://rhida.ch/">Rhidach</a> will have a post up discussing the relative merits of Tier 11 soonish, but till them you'll have to make do with my mumblings.<br /><br />The 2 Piece bonus is obviously a fairly strong Threat-Per-Second boost to your main threat-generating ability, and at 10% it scales better than the Warrior and Deathknight analogues. However I find it interesting that there isn't a commensurate increase in the AoE threat-generating ability - an attempt to keep AoE threat from getting out of hand perhaps?<br /><br />The 4-Piece bonus is pretty much the same as that for other classes, and the cooldowns they affect are <a href="http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?sid=1&topicId=15110913718&pageNo=1#15">roughly comparable</a>. Guardian of Ancient Kings has a duration of 12 seconds for Protection, so the bonus increases the duration to 18 seconds. I'm pretty sure that's a good deal, but I'm really not an experienced enough tank to decide if it's worth keeping over a half- or full-Tier upgrade.<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/itemset=933">Holy - Reinforced Sapphirium Regalia</a></span><br /><br /><table style="text-align: left; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" border="1"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight: bold;">Intellect</td><td>1349</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight: bold;">Stamina</td><td>2296</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight: bold;">Spirit</td><td>987</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight: bold;">Crit Rating</td><td>540</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight: bold;">Mastery Rating</td><td>337</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight: bold;">Haste Rating</td><td>0</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Setting aside the bonus for a moment, the stats on Holy Tier 11 seem very, very strange. They are absolutely chock full of Critical Strike and Mastery but lacking in Haste, which seems somewhat obtuse. Haste is obviously a raw throughput stat and as such as independently useful in almost all situations, but perhaps diminishing returns were starting to bite when you factor in multiple Haste Talents. Crit however is just not that good even as a mana efficiency stat given the loss of Illumination. It synergises with the Communion talent pretty well, but once you reach a certain level of crit the diminishing returns hit hard. Mastery is a straight through-put talent but like Crit the effect can be wasted through its' short duration and non-rolling nature.<br /><br />Basically, Crit and Mastery are both situationally good, whereas Haste is just <span style="font-weight: bold;">Good </span>full stop. To not have any on our Tier gear is bizarre in the extreme, even though you have significant amounts via Talents and Raid buffs.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Set Bonuses</span><br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">2 Piece</span> - Increases the critical strike chance of your Holy Light spell by 5%.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4 Piece</span> - Whenever your Holy Radiance spell is active, you gain 1620 Spirit.<br /></blockquote><br />The 2 piece bonus is your standard fare filler for each healing spec. Shaman and Priests have an analogous bonus on their Tier 11, whereas Druids have a crit chance bonus to Lifebloom ticks. In another time I'd have called these 'placeholder' bonuses, but not today when imaginative set bonuses are sacrificed to the alter of class equality. The value is strongly linked to how often you use Holy Light in your rotation (no flies on me, eh ;)), so this may be one Tier bonus you'd be happy to trade in.<br /><br />The bonus for wearing 4 pieces of gear is roughly the same as all the Tier 11 healing sets. Holy Radiance has a 10 second duration and 30 second cooldown if you invest in the Speed of Light talent, so unlike other classes you're not able to keep a particular buff up 100% of the time but to compensate you gain more Spirit for a shorter period of time. Previously this may have allowed you to take advantage of other cooldowns to boost your regen rates to high levels for a short period of time, but I'm not sure that any 4.0 abilities function that way.<br /><br />--<br /><br />So there you have it, a longish introduction to the Tier 11 sets. As always, everything is subject to changeSuicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-9192571408202075272010-11-12T15:07:00.007+00:002010-11-30T17:56:24.422+00:00DPS Meta Gem Requirements for Retribution.<b><i>UPDATE: Blizzard have announced an intention to revert the colour requirements of 3% Crit Damage Meta Gems back to 3.3 specs - 2 Blue one Red for Chaotics and one of each colour for Relentless. The changes should come into effect in an upcoming patch, making the rest of this article moot unless the revert is reversed.</i></b><br /><br /><br /><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 64px; height: 66px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzTOTfmfATIR2y72oF9GWkCKk6anFh24KpMZ7RTaL0_IMNy74VzmXCx1SQoCiolFuxoZez5TKeO6lQMKJy5ekXxcv-OELJIBait6vATV_Uwz3tbSRASjcrK4MURaR34j3kHCi0/s400/Meta85.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538667056545839586" border="0" />Level 85 Meta Gems have been implemented on the Beta Servers, or perhaps that should be <span style="font-style: italic;">partially </span>implemented. You can find the full list of Meta Gems discovered so far on Wowhead Beta Site <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/items=3.6#0-2+1">here</a>, but lets have a quick look at those useful to Melee Specs. Note that rare gems in the Beta (the highest Tier available so far) have a budget of +40 stats i.e. +40 Strength/Hit Rating/Expertise Rating etc.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PvE Melee/Caster DPS</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Chaotic Shadowspirit Diamond</span><br />+54 Critical Strike Rating and 3% Increased Critical Damage<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Requires more Blue gems than Red gems</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PvE Tanking</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Austere Shadowspirit Diamond</span><br />+81 Stamina and 2% Increased Armor Value from Items<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Requires at least 2 Yellow gems</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Eternal Shadowspirit Diamond</span><br />+81 Stamina and +5% Shield Block Value<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Requires at least 3 Blue gems</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PvP Melee/Caster</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Destructive Shadowspirit Diamond</span><br />+54 Critical Strike Rating and 1% Spell Reflect<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Requires at least 2 Red gems</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Enigmatic Shadowspirit Diamond</span><br />+54 Critical Strike Rating and Reduces Snare/Root Duration by 10%<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Requires at least 1 Blue gems<br />Requires at least 1 Yellow gems</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Fleet Shadowspirit Diamond</span><br />+54 Mastery Rating and Minor Run Speed Increase<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Requires at least 2 Yellow gems<br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Impassive Shadowspirit Diamond</span><br />+54 Critical Strike Rating and Fear Duration Reduced by 10%<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Requires at least 1 Blue gems<br />Requires at least 1 Yellow gems</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Powerful Shadowspirit Diamond</span><br />+81 Stamina and Stun Duration Reduced by 10%<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Requires at least 2 Blue gems</span><br /><br /><br />Obviously the majority of these are variations on a theme intended for PvP, no biggie. But look at the change to the Chaotic gem requirements - "<span style="font-weight: bold;">More Blue than Red Gems</span>". With the changes in 4.0 melee DPS can finally get some use out of Blue Gems via the Hit Rating, but in the case of Retribution Red +Strength Gems are still point for point on the order of 33% better when below the Hit Cap. We can't even revert back to a level 80 RED, both it and Chaotic Skyflare are being retroactively changed to have the same Blue>Red requirements.<br /><br />For Retribution, and many other specs if what I'm hearing bears out, whether or not to satisfy Meta Gems requirements is going to be a thorny issue. Tier 11 gearing levels will include 8 sockets at minimum and 12 or more in optimal configurations, so that's between 7 and 11 Purple gems and 1 Blue gem. In Ret's case, when below the Hit Cap you're trading up-to 260 Strength (all-Red) for 260 Hit Rating (Blue>Red), obviously a reduction in overall DPS. To be an attractive proposition this has to be less than the value of +3% Critical Strike Damage.<br /><br />So, is it better to socket all Red rather than aim for the Meta Requirements? Well, it's a tough call. Current World of Logs parses indicate the +3% Critical Strike damage bonus is a not inconsiderable ~1% of total DPS, but the relative value of 260 Strength over 260 Hit is in that ball-park too. There's not an awful lot in it, but the equation gets much worse for Chaotic Shadowspirit as you gain more sockets, discover gems with higher stat bonuses, reforge Crit into other stats, or surpass the Hit Cap. For what it's worth, quick calculations of my own lead me to believe that running with the Chaotic Meta is fractionally better than not.<br /><br />If 3% Crit Damage is worth it Gemming and Reforging priorities won't be affected, though the numbers game would become more interesting. Gems choices will tend to be Purple <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/item=52213">Etched Demonseye</a> (as they are more convenient for item socket bonuses) plus one <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=73344">Rigid Ocean Sapphire</a> or Green Gem with +Hit/+Other Rating when near the Cap.<br /><br />Reaching the opposite conclusion - that 3% Crit Damage just isn't worth it - will mean you have to reforge much more aggressively to reach all the relevant Caps. The priority of Hit then Expertise will remain in place but you may find yourself reforging away stats that in an ideal world you'd like to keep. It goes without saying that the Meta Gem of choice when gemming straight red would be the Destructive Shadowspirit Diamond.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwLru011_x3ALDsnr3PDVCMLnhM1GPblm9c5F91pd6mILn0Z58SlXaeWqWzI92e1TTw68mQaTX4VMerM3kKXSmyBP_BnkwDuKAmBl9a0sZS-pEN5DBIZFUsTJvcotrdAzxCjy2/s1600/Tier11PalaSocket.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 392px; height: 243px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwLru011_x3ALDsnr3PDVCMLnhM1GPblm9c5F91pd6mILn0Z58SlXaeWqWzI92e1TTw68mQaTX4VMerM3kKXSmyBP_BnkwDuKAmBl9a0sZS-pEN5DBIZFUsTJvcotrdAzxCjy2/s400/Tier11PalaSocket.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538671604872595282" border="0" /></a><br />But that's not all, for that would be too easy, there are still Socket Bonuses to cogitate over. Cataclysm Socket bonuses are much, much more significant than they are in Wrath itemisation, to the extent that it's not uncommon to see +20 and even +30 bonuses in key slots. Any bonuses valued at 10 Strength or greater per off-colour choice will be valuable, and they occur with considerable frequency at Tier 11. Yellow gem slots are ideally filled by <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/item=52222">Inscribed Ember Topaz</a> until +Strength/+Haste Orange gems are included, but don't forget to balance with an additional blue if you're aiming for the more stringent Meta bonus.Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-14906033510911376662010-10-15T08:48:00.004+01:002010-10-15T16:22:05.528+01:00Hey, Did'Ya Feel That? Yeah, You Just Got Hotfixed, In A Good Way.<img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietEv2LYPXic-W7WCKuTNgzjM_g3SDaxGdb7VZaeXDvi8N5wsUX8C3xPJQQlAi8qVDLpAktIcZLbMzcZCUDTTo7IFJH-DJjTLbiGgcEL_ZWq36W3PXHOwR30Ztl-7-x5CvTqzK/s400/RetAuraIco.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528276746767844258" />Last night Blizzard pushed a number of server-side changes (AKA Hotfixes) to the Live servers to address the DPS imbalances seen at level 80, and Ret was amongst the classes whose DPS was boosted. SIGNIFICANTLY boosted.<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">We made many changes yesterday. A lot of these were bug fixes, and many bug fixes will affect damage one way or the other. So just because you don't see a specific change referenced below, doesn't mean it didn't change.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">With that said, here are the specific changes we made in reference to my previous post:</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">1) We buffed the base points and coefficients of many warrior dps abilities. We didn't do as much to tanking abilities.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;">We buffed the base points and coefficients of many Ret abilities.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">We buffed the base points and coefficients of many Feral cat abilities.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">2) We lowered the base points and coefficients of many Mage abilities, but lowered Fire more than the other two.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">3) We nerfed Shadow Word: Death, but it is possible we didn't nerf it enough. It should not be Shadow's biggest spell.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">4) We returned Searing Pain's damage to its 3.3.5 levels.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">5) We increased the benefit of resilience by 50% for players level 80 and below. The tooltips will probably not reflect this change.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">We don't have any other changes to announce at this time. I am reluctant to mention additional classes or specs that we are looking at currently for fear of instilling excitement or panic. </span>(<a href="http://blue.mmo-champion.com/t/27187856197/class-balance-as-of-oct-13-2010/">Source</a>)</blockquote><br /><br />In my naivete I was anticipating a simple and straightforward buff to Seal coefficients. Well the very fine folks over at Elitist Jerks have been busy beavers trying to extract the changes and it appears that the Ret changes are much more comprehensive than I'd expected:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Exorcism </span>- Base damage increased<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Judgement </span>- damage increased by 50%<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Censure </span>(The Seal of Truth Dot analogous to the old Seal of Vengeance Dot) - Damage increased by 33%<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Hammer of Wrath </span>- Damage increased by 230% (not a typo)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Holy Wrath </span>- Spell Power coefficient doubled<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Templar's Verdict </span>- Damage increased by 30% when you cast it by spending 3 Holy Power<br /><br />Thanks to Redcape on said forum for these coeffs. If there are any new developments I'll update this list.<br /><br />You'll note that most of the changes are to the Filler abilities, and as you might expect the Filler priority needs to be adjusted. Furthermore, it now makes sense to separate your Zealotry and Avenging Wrath cooldowns in order to maximise your DPS, whereas previously Zealotry and AW would be activated together. There may also be further implications at level 85 if the coefficients remain the same, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.<br /><br />The new Filler priority is:<br /><br />1st:- Hammer of Wrath<br />2nd:- Exorcism + Art of War<br />3rd:- Judgement<br />4th:- Consecration<br />5th:- Holy Wrath<br /><br />These are rough approximations. I believe that Exorcism+AoW and Judgement are pretty close together now in terms of DPS contribution, and Holy Wrath may just squeeze out Consecration due to Divine Purpose potentially proc'ing a point of Holy Power.<br /><br />Glyphs also change slightly. In terms of Primes, Glyphs of Judgement and Exorcism are both probably better than Glyph of Crusader Strike now, with Templar's Verdict and Seal of Truth still being best in slot (the latter only if you are below the Expertise cap). In order to reduce the strain of casting Hammer of Wrath during Wings burn phases you'll almost certainly want to take it's corresponding <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=41097">Major Glyph</a> to reduce the mana cost by 100%.<br /><br />That's it from me for the moment, go out and give the changes a try for yourself. If nothing else your DPS level in static fights should be back up to 3.3.5 levels, and Hammer of Wrath crits are bloody hilarious.Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-86632929696796057662010-10-14T16:25:00.006+01:002010-10-15T15:19:22.197+01:00A Few More Words on Ret 4.0.1 - Stats and 'Rotations'[UPDATED 14/10/10: Filler skill priority list updated to reflect hotfix. Significant changes.]<br /><br /><br /><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietEv2LYPXic-W7WCKuTNgzjM_g3SDaxGdb7VZaeXDvi8N5wsUX8C3xPJQQlAi8qVDLpAktIcZLbMzcZCUDTTo7IFJH-DJjTLbiGgcEL_ZWq36W3PXHOwR30Ztl-7-x5CvTqzK/s400/RetAuraIco.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528276746767844258" />So, how was your Patch Day? Fraught with bugs and a learning curve which would put the average mountain stage of the Tour De France to shame? Good, I'd expect nothing less. If you've had the chance to play around with the new model yet, and perhaps even Raid, you'll probably think that things have gone backwards since 3.3.5. In some ways they have - Ret is broadly balanced around lvl85 and the two new DPS abilities we get from 81-85. You may even have lost DPS, a cursory glance at the WoL reports of a number of high-level guilds indicate a significant drop in DPS measured in double-digit percentage points. Level 80 is going to be an uphill battle in a way that the transition from Burning Crusade to Wrath wasn't.<br /><br />On the other hand, Ghostcrawler has recently acknowledged that Ret and a number of specs are underperforming, whilst casters (esp. Mages) are over the top. In fairness to Mages, their mechanics are so Crit-dependant I'd expect them to be more reasonable at lvl85. A few hotfixes may well be incoming, probably to Seal and Judgement damage rather than fundamental underlying mechanics, so keep your eyes peeled. Caster PvE DPS will probably wipe the floor with yours for the next couple of months even when you get the hand the new mechanics, and as for PvP.... ahahahah NO!<br /><br />This makes optimising your Ret Paladin experience all the more important now, and with any luck you'll be ready for the post-Cataclysm future when it arrives whilst still pulling your weight in Icecrown.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Stats - Strength, Haste, all that Jazz.</span><br /><br />Normally I'd discuss the rotation first but one stat in particular is pretty critical to how it's constructed.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Strength </span>- By far the most important stat in terms of what increases your DPS, even more so than Hit and Expertise. It's now your primary stat for Gemming.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hit </span>- Should be capped, preferably through base stats on gear and reforging. Every DPS-increasing ability you have scales with Hit, in addition to Divine Purpose and Mastery procs.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Expertise </span>- Not quite as important as Hit (Exorcism, Holy Wrath and Judgement don't scale with this stat) it's still very useful for the same reasons as Hit. Cap via base gear, reforging and Glyph of Seal of Truth.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Haste </span>- See Below<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Crit </span>- No longer as important as in 3.X, no proc'ing abilities are directly dependant on it. This is the best stat to trade for Hit, Expertise and Haste via reforging.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mastery </span>- At present, Mastery increases the proc chance of Hand of Light by 1% per 32 rating. It's only available via reforging and isn't quite good enough to warrant investing into over Haste or Crit.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Haste</span><br /><br /><b><i>This is very much a first pass at the Haste issue and represents my thoughts and ideas on the subject. If you have anything to add, don't hesitate to do so.</i></b><br /><br />Haste is a strange stat in 4.0. As before it increases the speed of your auto-attacks, reduces the cast time of your spells and shaves off a few milliseconds from your spell GCD. However it will now also reduce the cooldown of your Crusader Strike, presupposing you took Sanctity of Battle - you did take it didn't you? If you invest in the Judgements of the Pure talent you get 9% pretty much baseline, and the Wrath of Air Totem will grant you 5% more (Sanctity of Battle is both Melee <i>and</i> Spell Haste). Your effective cooldown will be:<br /><br />CS_Cooldown_Effective=CS_Cooldown_RaidBase/(1+%Haste/100)<br /><br />where<br /><br />CS_Cooldown_Raidbase = cooldown modified by JotP and Wrath of Air = 4.5/1.09/1.05 = 3.93184<br /><br />Your target for CS_Cooldown_Effective should be around 3 seconds plus the average latency you experience when activating two instance-cast abilities. I.e.<br /><br />2*GCD+2*latency = CS_Cooldown_Raidbase/(1+%Haste/100)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Assuming perfect (0ms) latency you want ~31% haste from gear alone, and substantially less as your latency increased. At the level <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Combat_ratings">80 ratings of 32.79 per 1% Haste this equates to approx 1017 Rating.</a></div><table style="text-align: left; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Combat_ratings"><br /></a><tbody><tr><td>Latency </td><td>Optimum Haste Rating @lvl80</td></tr><tr><td>50</td><td>880</td></tr><tr><td>100</td><td>749.9073</td></tr><tr><td>150</td><td>627.8192</td></tr><tr><td>200</td><td>512.9127529</td></tr><tr><td>300</td><td>302.2509333</td></tr><tr><td>400</td><td>113.7640421</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Obviously, Latency has a drastic impact on required haste rating and DPS. This optimum represents a soft-cap on haste. More will still strictly increase your DPS, but probably not by quite as much as Crit.<br /></div></div><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Rotations</span><br /><br />With that out the way, it's time to talk about rotations. In 3.X the rotation was basically a very sedate First-Come-First-Serve priority system, with the odd change-up from Art of War or the Tier-10 2 piece set bonus. Spare GCD's left wriggle-room for utility, such as Hands, and self-healing via Sacred Shield. 4.0 isn't quite the polar opposite, but pretty darn close.<br /><br />The way I view it, there are three parts to the 4.0 Paladin DPS model.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Finisher</span><br /><br />Templar's Verdict and Divine Storm (and Inquisition in 4.0.3) are your Finishers, analogous to Rogue Finishers. As a rule of thumb you should only cast them when you have 3 Holy Power or a Proc of Hand of the Light. However if either of those conditions are true, TV and DS are the only spells you should be casting.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Fulcrum</span><br /><br />This your primary Holy Power generating ability, Crusader Strike, which is pivotal to your DPS. If you have reached the Optimum Haste Rating you will cast it on cooldown, 3 seconds + 2*Latency. At haste values substantially lower than the optimum the math starts to get messy - you need to judge whether delaying the casting of CS in favour of a 2nd filler is higher DPS than doing nothing. Some quick calculations indicate that it should be worth waiting until CS is off cooldown. Essentially, you'll hit CS whenever it is off cooldown AND you have neither 3HP nor a Mastery proc active.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Fillers</span><br /><br />Fillers are DPS abilities which are cast between every CS that doesn't result in reaching 3 HP. Each is prioritised against the other on a damage-per-cast basis, which results in the following priority order:<br /><br />1st. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hammer of Wrath</span><br />2nd. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Exorcism</span>, presupposing <span style="font-weight: bold;">Art of War </span>Proc<br />3rd. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Judgement</span><br />4th. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Consecration</span><br />5th. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Holy Wrath</span><br />6th. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Exorcism </span>(No Art of War)<br /><br /><i>This Rotation has been uipdated to reflect the changes brought in the Hotfix on the 14th October.</i><br /><br />Using the above the basic Rotation is <span style="font-weight: bold;">CS->Filler->CS->Filler->CS->TV/DS->CS</span>. Divine Purpose procs for extra Holy Power allow you to hit TV earlier, and a Proc of Hand of Light allows you to hit TV immediately, followed by CS or TV depending on the subsequent amount of Holy Power.<br /><br />There are certain situations where this priority may change slightly, the most obvious situation being when you're at >15yards range as a Judgement would allow you to close with the target more quickly, or when mana consumption is unsustainable. Note that Major Glyphs shave off some mana issues you may have.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Avenging Wrath</span> and <span style="font-weight:bold;">Zealotry</span> should not be active at the same time so you can gain full benefit from the <span style="font-weight:bold;">Sanctified Wrath</span> talent, which allows Hammer of Wrath to be cast regardless of target health whilst under the effects of Wings. During Zealotry phases CS and TV should be cast back-to-back, but take care to ensure that you have plenty of mana before Zealotry comes off cooldown.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What does this all mean?</span><br /><br />Well, for one say goodbye to those free GCDs, you should now be spending every GCD you have on a DPS ability. Proc-watching will also be a major part of your gameplay as you react to Divine Purpose granting you the 3 HP you need, or Hand of Light, or Art of War. In fact, the Cataclysm-equivalent of Wrath's CLCRet add-on will most likely be mandatory if you want to do effective levels of raid DPS without consuming a lethal dose Caffeine.<br /><br />The problem with a full-GCD rotation is that latency has a huge impact on DPS, and that's being worked on by Blizzard. In the current Beta build a queueing system for abilities is being implemented, which should eliminate the latency experienced by chaining abilities which aren't on a spell-specific cooldown together. Until it's pushed to Live, mashing those keys is the best you can do.<br /><br />One of the points I haven't mentioned is being aware of encounter phase transition timings so you can dump your remaining Holy Power <strike>before it decays (it decays at a rate of 1 HP per 10 sec IIRC),</strike>* but it's a fairly obvious point to observe.<br /><br />*As corrected by Antigen in comments, Holy Power only decays whilst out of combat.Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-52632591461342012382010-10-12T13:40:00.012+01:002010-10-15T15:47:55.251+01:00Retribution Patch 4.0.1 Talent Primer.<img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietEv2LYPXic-W7WCKuTNgzjM_g3SDaxGdb7VZaeXDvi8N5wsUX8C3xPJQQlAi8qVDLpAktIcZLbMzcZCUDTTo7IFJH-DJjTLbiGgcEL_ZWq36W3PXHOwR30Ztl-7-x5CvTqzK/s400/RetAuraIco.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528276746767844258" />I just want to take a little time to do a quick run-down of Talents specs and Glyphs. Holy Power is something you'll really need to experience for yourself to get the hang of before serious raiding starts up, no amount of talking can suddenly make you accustomed to this new mechanic. It's worth noting that a recent change to the mechanic allows Divine Purpose's Proc'd HP points to stack to 4 (invisibly), which reducing the amount of wasted HP due to bad luck but still takes some getting used to.<br /><br />TLDR:<br /><br />Suggested 4.0.1 Talent Build for Level 80:<br />Final 4.0.1 PvE Build:- <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/talent#s0hZMZcrGsdzszfz">3/2/[28+X]</a>. Note that Points spent here in Guardian's Favour and Repentance can be spent elsewhere in Retribution according to your own taste.<br />Glyphs: Templar's Verdict (P) Exorcism (P) Crusader Strike (P) Aesthetic Crusader (Ma) Hammer of Wrath (Ma) Consecration (Ma) Lay on Hands (Mi)<br /><br />--<br /><br />Every Retribution build at level 80 has to take at least 31pts in the tree, and once those 31pts are spent you can diversify into Holy or Protection. <b>You will want to do this!</b> Ther are only 28 places to invest you talent points that increase your DPS in the Ret Tree, the 5 'spare' points will almost certainly be distributed between Holy or Prot Tier 1.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Masteries</span><br /><br />Masteries are passive abilities and active skills you gain from choosing a specialisation. The Masteries you gain from being awesome enough to choose Retribution are:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUnGwYWMsPU8Gwxkb8bGzcCTPtAl9XC2vIpGh7l3waC-TrWeH3DJxJ-v51tzL8nYQlB1OtXdt-6mDN9OYeOxGwIQlFtczpS2Dc4fc23rDe-NaMBKUI0rKPSqX1pJlGbCdJznp/s1600/Masteries.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 399px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUnGwYWMsPU8Gwxkb8bGzcCTPtAl9XC2vIpGh7l3waC-TrWeH3DJxJ-v51tzL8nYQlB1OtXdt-6mDN9OYeOxGwIQlFtczpS2Dc4fc23rDe-NaMBKUI0rKPSqX1pJlGbCdJznp/s400/Masteries.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527183313368958786" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Templar's Verdict </span>- Strike that scales with Holy Power<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sheathe of Light </span>- Increases Spell Power by 30% of Attack Power [N.B. Many spells which scaled from AP and SP now only scale from AP or SP, whichever is greater]<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Two-Handed Weapon Specialisation </span>- 20% Increased Damage with 2-handed Weapons<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Judgements of the Bold </span>- Gain 25% of your base mana over 10 seconds whenever you cast Judgement<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hand of Light </span>- 8% chance on Auto-attack for your next Holy Power ability to cost no Holy Power and cast as if it used 3 Holy Power. Chance increases by 1% for every point of Mastery (~32 Mastery Rating @lvl80)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Talent Run-down</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Ret Tier 1:</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eye for an Eye </span>(2 Pts):- We're still in the dark over whether this talent can proc from Boss attacks, but the answer is probably not. Perhaps worth experimenting with it using spare Ret points.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Crusade </span>(3 Pts):- A flat 15% boost to Templar's Verdict and Crusader Strike, your staple DPS abilities. Take it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Improved Judgement </span>(2 Pts):- Better than you might think, this new talent increases the range of Judgement by 20yards. Ideal for high-movement encounters and opening up at range. Take it. Prerequisite for Long Arm of the Law.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Tier 2:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Guardian's Favour</span> (2 Pts):- Still a strong PvP utility talent, it's of less use in PvE when your raid is switched on. Candidate for spare points.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rule of Law</span> (3 Pts):- Increases the critical effect chance of your Crusader Strike by 15%. Not as great as it would be if Crit played a greater role in your DPS than it currently does, it's still a DPS-increase. Take it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Pursuit of Justice </span>(2 Pts):- 100% chance of gaining HP when struck by Stuns, Fears and Immobilises AND 15% increased run speed. Probably the best 2 pts you can spend in Ret for PvP or PvE, take it!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Tier 3:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Communion </span>(1 Pt):- Players affected by your Aura's do 3% more damage, you do 2% more damage and gain Replenishment when you cast Judgement. Take It.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Art of War </span>(3 Pts):- In a slightly different take to 3.x's AoW, your autoattacks have a 20% chance to cause your next Exorcism to be instant cast, cost no mana and deal 100% additional damage. Awesome talent in terms of 'fun', you'll want to be investing in this.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Long Arm of the Law </span>(2 Pts):- Judgements increase your run speed by 45% for 4 seconds when cast on targets >15yards from you. Whilst not being as good as you might think it's still not bad, and perhaps one that will be tweaked later on. Take it in both your PvP and PvE builds though, you've got nothing better to spend the points on.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Divine Storm </span>(1 Pt):- If we had more than 31 DPS-increasing points to spend debate over whether or not to take this skill would rage long into the night. As it stands, though much diminished it's still our best AoE ability. Take It. [NB As with Whirlwind, Divine Storm no longer has a target limit]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Tier 4:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rebuke </span>(1pt):- The long awaited Retribution interrupt, it's essentially Kick for Paladins. There aren't any PvE encounters which make this talent mendatory so you may want to give this a miss for now. PvP is another matter.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sanctity of Battle </span>(1pt):- Haste reduces the cooldown of Crusader Strike. In 4.0 @lvl80 this is going to be significant due to the high haste rating on gear. 50% haste from gear and effects result in the optimal 3sec CS cooldown, which probably won't be achievable at level 85. Take this ability and go nuts whilst it lasts.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Seals of Command </span>(1pt):- Your damaging Seal Procs now do an additional 7% weapon damage, and your Seal of Righteousness will now cleave to 2 nearby targets. No brainer, take it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sanctified Wrath </span>(3pts):- Largely unchanged in 4.0, it has had the former Glyph of Avenging Wrath effect rolled into it which allows you to cast Hammer of Wrath regardless of target health whenever you pop Wings. Due to a recent buff to Hammer of Wrath Damage, Wings and Zealotry shouldn't be activated at the same time.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Tier 5:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Selfless Healer </span>(2 Pts):- 50% stronger Words of Glory and 4% more damage caused per Holy Power used. <b>This is not a damage increasing talent</b>, use Holy Power on anything other than a Templar's Verdict or Inquisition (lvl81) and it'll be a DPS loss. It does however mitigate the DPS loss somewhat. May be interesting in PvP but not too useful in PvE because you shouldn't be wasting HP on heals except in specific circumstances (e.g. phase changes).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Repentance </span>(1 Pt):- Still the same effect, still out only effective CC. You'll definitely want to take this in Cataclysm Heroics, but for now you can avoid it at your discretion in PvE. I'll be taking it, it's been a life-saver in the past.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvL6EZe3pe4RhATAgYkA8PZxZ-zxKlgpo7KzABUv7MLSjfMUxRCePKiRcHPSPxWQZwp1IBMxgiWUjFUOTNV4mDTKrQzOm2K9opGrW_PLSML4M_fyW2jyIU5EibxVlfoIWwn4Uw/s1600/DivinePurpose.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 386px; height: 188px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvL6EZe3pe4RhATAgYkA8PZxZ-zxKlgpo7KzABUv7MLSjfMUxRCePKiRcHPSPxWQZwp1IBMxgiWUjFUOTNV4mDTKrQzOm2K9opGrW_PLSML4M_fyW2jyIU5EibxVlfoIWwn4Uw/s400/DivinePurpose.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527183621972841586" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Divine Purpose </span>(2Pts):- Pretty much every non-CS special attack you will do will have a 40% chance to grant you 1 Holy Power. Take It, Obviously. [N.B. If this procs when you're already at 3 Holy Power you will gain a 4th application, though you won't see it in the UI].<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Tier 6:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Inquiry of Faith </span>(3Pts):- Increases the periodic damage of your Seal of Truth (your main single-target Seal) by 30%. Take it. [N.B. Also increases Inquisitions duration by 150%, but that is meaningless until lvl81+ is unlocked].<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Acts Of Sacrifice </span>(2pts):- This is a strange one. 20% Cooldown reduction of Hands of Freedom, Salvation and Sacrifice is great for PvP, and would be pretty good for PvE if the old Glyph of Salvation (20% damage reduction) still existed as a Major. It doesn't, and so in theory this talent should be avoided in PvE. The great unknown is just what sort of state Threat will be in come 4.0. If any classes are threat capped this talent will be a DPS-increase for the Raid, otherwise it's of only marginal value.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Tier 7:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Zealotry </span>(1 Pt):- Our Superb, Ultimate Talent - except it kinda isn't. Zealotry costs 3 Holy Power, but causes Crusader Strike to generate 3 Holy Power per hit. For 15 seconds our rotation becomes hectic, spammy and not at all elegant, and Divine Purpose procs are wasted. You'd want to synergise it with Avenging Wrath but this inevitably steps on the toes of Sanctified Wrath's tertiary effect of allowing Hammer of Wrath to be cast regardless of target Health. Instead, keep Zealotry and Wings phases independent of one another. Take it, but use the opportunity to practice with it.<br /><br />You should continue to synchronise AW with Bloodlust/Timewarp, Zealotry phases gain little from the Bloodlust cooldown.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Off-Spec Trees:</span><br /><br />At level 80 you only have a total of 36 Talent points, leaving 5 spare once you've invested the bare minimum into Retribution. The result is that Tier 2 Holy and Prot is beyond your reach. Thankfully, there are a total of 7 places you can invest your remaining talent points which increase your DPS.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Protection Tier 1.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Divinity </span>(3 Pts):- A relic of 3.X, this increases the healing you take and do by 6%. Avoid at level 80, but consider at level 85 if Tier 2 Prot has something really juicy you want to take.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Seals of the Pure </span>(2 Pts):- Increases the damage done by your Seal of Truth/Righteousness/Justice by 12%. It should also affect Seal of Truth's DoT and Seals of Command. Probabably a toss-up between it and Arbiter of the Light, this should be the better PvE talent presupposing it scales the abilities correctly.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eternal Glory </span>(2 Pts):- 30% chance for your Word of Glory to consume no Holy Power. Avoid when Ret.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Holy Tier 1.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Arbiter of the Light </span>(2 Pts):- Increases the critical effect chance of Judgement and Templar's Verdict by 15%. Pretty tasty in PvP, it's slightly weaker in PvE than SotP and JotP. Probably.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Protector of the Innocent </span>(3 Pts):- I can't envision a situation where Retribution or Protection would take this talent (save it being extremely buggy and proccing on Judgement Heal of Replenishment ticks). Avoid unless Holy.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Judgements of the Pure </span>(3 Pts):- Increases casting and melee Haste by 9% for 1 minute following a Judgement. That's 9% passive haste, which affects Exorcism (yawn), Holy Wrath (yawn), Crusader Strike (Yay), Auto Attacks (Yay) and Ret Mastery. The math needs to be crunched on it, but it's worth at least one point and probably all three.<br /><br /><br />Final 4.0.1 PvE Build:- <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/talent#s0hZMZcrGsdzszfz">3/2/[28+X]</a>. Note that Points spent here in Guardian's Favour and Repentance can be spent according to your own taste.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwtImMj0Y-k82rSfleOTPGN0h-lnS8qQr2xoR7DdSqEcCsP61H9judIuck1KbfFkTKcWol1dJP3_UxP41AqMcyj4W4dJfraEJBsXQ8-DOY2ew6Q-1s9PGefMtHQPHlpUiK24ZK/s1600/TalentSpec.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwtImMj0Y-k82rSfleOTPGN0h-lnS8qQr2xoR7DdSqEcCsP61H9judIuck1KbfFkTKcWol1dJP3_UxP41AqMcyj4W4dJfraEJBsXQ8-DOY2ew6Q-1s9PGefMtHQPHlpUiK24ZK/s400/TalentSpec.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527183878008267042" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Glyphs</span><br /><br />Unfortunately I don't have a lot of time to discuss glyphs, but Antigen at Haz Mace Will Raid has a great run-down of Glyphs <a href="http://www.hazmacewillraid.com/2010/10/ptr-4-0-1-the-paladin-stuff/">here</a>. Here are my thoughts<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Prime (AKA the only ones that Really matter)</span>:</span><br /><br />1st: <span style="font-weight: bold;">Glyph of Templar's Verdict </span>- 15% More TV damage. Obvious choice.<br />2nd <span style="font-weight: bold;">Glyph of Exorcism </span>- 20% increased damage for Exorcism.*<br />3rd: <span style="font-weight: bold;">Glyph of Crusader Strike </span>- 5% more Crit for CS.*<br />4th: <span style="font-weight: bold;">Glyph of Judgement </span>- 10% more damage for Judgement.<br /><br />*<i>after WoL analysis, Glyph of Exorcism appears to contribute significantly more DPS than Glyph of Crusader Strike and Glyph of Judgement. Priority adjusted accordingly</i><br /><br />Also consider: <span style="font-weight:bold;">Glyph of Seal of Truth </span>- Still at least better than Glyph of Crusader Strike below the Expertise Cap. Probably better to take this than reforging your gear to reach the cap.<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Major:</span></span><br /><br />Why oh why isn't Glyph of Seal of Truth a Major? Anyway, most of the Majors are mana cost reductions, which aren't that useful to Ret. On the other hand, Major's should be the slot with most situational utility and so are prime candidates for tailoring to specific encounters. Here are the more situational Glyphs.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Glyph of Divine Protection</span>: no physical damage reduction, but in trade you gain 40% magical damage reduction. On a 1 minute cooldown. No longer causing Forbearance. Awesome IMO.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Glyph of Salvation</span>: Could have potential on burn phases for threat capped players, we don't really know enough about how it works just yet.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Glyph of the Aesthetic Crusader</span>: Flat mana cost reduction on our spammiest spell. Probably will turn out to be a staple of Ret over time.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Glyph of Turn Evil</span>: Much less of a trade-off to take it in 4.0 than 3.X, it's still situational in PvE. Great in PvP.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Glyph of Holy Wrath</span>: Extends Holy Wrath's stun to Dragonkin and Elementals. V. useful in lvl85 content, you shouldn't be using it much anywhere other than Ruby Sanctum till then.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Glyph of Consecration</span>: Would be a no-brainer in 3.X, but the changes to the spell in 4.0 (10 sec duration, 30 sec cooldown, 55% base mana cost, less damage per tick) make the spell <i>extremely</i> situational. However it is the only Major glyph that represents an actual DPS increase. <i>Further analysis of WoL data indicates that Consecration is higher up in damage-per-cast than I was expecting, boosting the value of this Glyph</i>.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Minor:</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Glyph of Lay on Hands </span>and any others you fancy. None are particularly valuable for Retribution, though <span style="font-weight:bold;">Glyph of Seal of Righteousness </span>and <span style="font-weight:bold;">Seal of Truth</span> will make Seal Switching less of a mana-related headache.Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-34810740670343521712010-10-04T14:37:00.006+01:002010-10-04T14:49:25.222+01:00Press Release: December 7th Cataclysm Release - Official!Update: <a href="http://eu.blizzard.com/en-gb/company/press/pressreleases.html?101004">Official Press Release</a>.<br /><br />EDIT: Kotako are also quoting the same press release <a href="http://kotaku.com/5654952/">here</a>.<br /><br />If this is the case then Cataclysm is 2 months away, with 4.0.1 (the pre-Cataclysm preparatory build inclusing event) landing on live servers either tomorrow or next week in all likelihood. <br /><br />--<br /><br />No independent confirmation for this source as yet, multiple websites are quoting the same group: BusinessWire <br /><br /><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/world-of-warcraftr-cataclysmtm-in-stores-starting-december-7-2010-10-04?reflink=MW_news_stmp">http://www.marketwatch.com/story/world-of-warcraftr-cataclysmtm-in-stores-starting-december-7-2010-10-04?reflink=MW_news_stmp </a><br /><br /><blockquote>IRVINE, Calif., Oct 04, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that World of Warcraft(R): Cataclysm(TM), the highly anticipated third expansion for the world's most popular subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game*, will be released starting on December 7, 2010. The expansion will be available on DVD-ROM for Windows(R) XP/Windows Vista(R)/Windows(R) 7 and Macintosh(R) at a suggested retail price of $39.99 and will also be offered as a digital download from the Blizzard Store. A special Collector's Edition packed with bonus items will be available exclusively in retail stores for a suggested retail price of $79.99.<br /><br />"Cataclysm includes the best content we've ever created for World of Warcraft. It's not just an expansion, but a re-creation of much of the original Azeroth, complete with epic new high-level adventures for current players and a redesigned leveling experience for those just starting out," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "With the help of our beta testers, we're putting on the final polish, and we look forward to welcoming gamers around the world to enjoy it in just a couple of months."<br /><br />The first two World of Warcraft expansions, The Burning Crusade(R) and Wrath of the Lich King(R), each shattered PC game sales records upon their release.* In Cataclysm, the face of Azeroth will be forever altered by the return of the corrupted Dragon Aspect Deathwing. Players will explore once-familiar areas of the world that have now been reshaped by the devastation and filled with new adventures. In an effort to survive the planet-shattering cataclysm, two new playable races -- worgen and goblins -- will join the struggle between the Alliance and the Horde. As players journey to the new level cap of 85, they'll discover newly revealed locations, acquire new levels of power, and come face to face with Deathwing in a battle to determine the fate of the world.<br /><br />The beta test for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is currently underway. Visit the official Battle.net(R) website at http://www.battle.net to set up a Battle.net account and sign up for a chance to participate. To learn more about World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, visit http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm.<br /><br />*Based on internal company records, public data, and reports from key distribution partners.<br /><br />SOURCE: Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. </blockquote>Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-51754537930197231882010-09-08T18:20:00.003+01:002010-09-08T19:29:14.915+01:00One Week from a Release Date Announcement?"Gosh, this sounds familiar" was a feature of the talk on WoW-Twitter when the Alpha was first announced. It appeared that the start of the Catacysm F&F Alpha closely coincided with the Wrath of the Lich King Alpha leak 2 years earlier - make that 2 years to the week earlier. Speculation then run rampant - "How long will the Alpha Last?", "When will we get the Beta?", "What does this mean for the release date?" etc. but no-one really had much of a clue.<br /><br />If Cataclysm was following Wrath's development timetable then the Alpha turned into the Beta somewhat earlier than ones expectation. This has been explained away as a rush due to poor Alpha feedback and widespread information leaks, far more widespread than Wrath, which I suppose is a reasonable rationalisation. Beta start dates are small beans to our prospective Nostradamus's though as the real date of contention is the release date, and for those who want to believe that Cataclysm is mirroring Wrath's development schedule the next week or so is a key milestone. The release date of Wrath of the Lich King <a href="http://suicidalzebra.blogspot.com/2008/10/302-due-14th-october.html">was announced</a> on the 15th of September (for true obsessives this was the 3rd Monday in September), 2 months prior to the 13th November launch. If the smart money of a mid-November release is correct then a announcement may be imminent.<br /><br />If Cataclysm is to be mid-November then we may or may not see 4.0 go live about one month before that date. When 3.0 was launched the devs. still had a full month to add to and polish Northrend before anyone would step foot there, whereas the whole of Azeroth is being redeveloped in this latest expansion. Putting unfinished zones which aren't absolutely new (such as Winterspring) off-limits will be much more difficult to justify to the subscriber base, and so its' live date will be much more fluid. Furthermore, holding off on launching 4.0 till new 80+ content is released makes a lot of sense; class balance could well be shot to hell, making top-tier Wrath raiding content nigh-on impossible.<br /><br />Hey, it could happen :P<br /><br />And with that rampant speculation out the way, go and enjoy the Battle for Gnomeregan/Fall of Zalazane.Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-31114474094530925172010-08-16T13:03:00.008+01:002010-08-16T19:30:51.454+01:00Quick Note on LAotL's Effectiveness: Not Quite Zeno's Paradox, But Close<img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 64px; height: 64px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFDeqWMih5Tz5Wtd97Gkyhkbd_yNnXhpA3VcRgEI5532phco2PV26mgkXXpnalWuKiulqLe6LXnJm7GCWK11x_zEE2YqKUZRHgcrsHQL0CBA2CJzLRLUt2FOvAs1EcYuyZgfnP/s400/Sprint.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505234804345989186" border="0" />Long Arm of the Law, Retributions new Talented Gap-Closer, was revealed on Friday and has already excited a lot of comment. Whilst many have hailed the chance at finally dealing with kiters, those with a more critical eye have analysed the talent and found it somewhat wanting.<br /><br />UPDATE: Since posting this thread GC <a href="http://blue.mmo-champion.com/t/26435297016/clarification-on-laotl-please">has responded</a> to a query by <a href="http://hofflerand.blogspot.com/">Hofflerand</a> on this topic:<br /><br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">We generally don't stack movement speed increases and PoJ explicitly says that it doesn't stack, but the 30% is a very conservative number so we left ourselves room to bring that up. It's 45% in our current builds.<br /><br />Even if they don't stack, I think PoJ will be useful in a variety of situations and won't feel like a wasted talent. </blockquote><br /><br /><b>Is this a meaningful Gap Closer?</b><br /><br />Calling something a Gap Closer is somewhat overblown if the gap it closes is insignificant. Thankfully it's fairly easy to assess the numerical effectiveness of the talent for PvP and PvE:<br /><br /><blockquote><li>Default Run speed is 7 yards per second (<a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Speed">Source</a>)</li><li>Most Players in PvP will utilise a minor run speed enchant for 8% increased run speed</li><li>Most Retribution Paladins will take the Pursuit of Justice talent for 15% increased run speed.</li><li>Long Arm of the Law increases run speed by 30% for 4 seconds</li></blockquote><br /><br />This implies:<br /><br /><blockquote><li>In the duration of the LAotL buff (4 seconds) a PvP equipped enemy will run 30.24 yards.</li><li>A Paladin with PoJ will run 32.2 yards.</li><li>A Paladin with the Buff will run 36.4 yards.</li></blockquote><br /><br />The gross gap closed by a Paladin in an average PvP situation is 6.16 yards in this 4 second duration, which means that the net gap closed <b>purely by the Long Arm buff</b> is 4.2 yards. Note that at best this buff has a 10 second cooldown.<br /><br />The minimum range at which Long Arm can be used is 15 yards. Presupposing optimal conditions, at the end of the buff duration the Paladin will still be 8.84 yards away (~4 yards out of melee range) and it would take another 6 seconds to get into melee range. Most accomplished players of classes that can kite should easily be able to land another snare on the Paladin within that time frame. On the other hand it will reduces the time of getting an enemy into the range of a Hammer of Justice, which would be helpful when coupled with a cooldown reduction on this latter ability.<br /><br />In this regard therefore, Long Arm of the Law is most effective when dealing with escaping classes that have no Sprint/Ranged Snare/Inst. CC of their own, i.e. Warriors, the class which Retribution is already best equipped to deal. Against classes with easily apply-able snares (Hunter, Mage, DK) Long Arm has limited use, especially when Hand of Freedom is on cooldown. In essence, Long Arm doesn't make the class any less kiteable in of itself.<br /><br /><b>Is Long Arm of the Law Reliable?</b><br /><br />A major change for all Paladins in Cataclysm is the removal of buff protections such as Stoicism (30% reduced chance that your magical buffs and debuffs will be dispelled), leaving crucial abilities like Hand of Freedom and Justice significantly more vulnerable to dispel effects. The crucial question was whether or not Long Arm would be a magical effect, and thus dispellable. <b>Unfortunately it is dispellable</b>, and to have crucial PvP abilities neutered by simple class abilities with no cooldown or effective cost bar a GCD feels like bad design. As a consequence of minimum range <b>Ret Paladins will also have to utilise a range finder add-on to guard against using a Judgement in the dead-zone</b>.<br /><br /><b>Should you take the talent?</b><br /><br />In PvE the talent should be a fairly significant buff as outlined in the previous post. Even without the talent a 30 yard range Judgement has pretty significant implications when it comes to encounters with lots of mobility and target switching.<br /><br />The jury is still out in PvP. Whilst any movement speed boost is nice it has to be weighed against the additional DPS or utility talents you would otherwise spend the talent points on. On the other hand, more proficient Paladins will utilise Judgement focus or mouseover macros against tertiary targets to close the gap on their main target. The game will definitely be harder in Arena and Battlegrounds for Ret because of the changes already on the cards, and LAotL does little to really address underlying weaknesses in the class against the most basic mechanics.<br /><br />It feels a little churlish to complain about a movement speed buff but in my opinion it still needs work before it's really ready for primetime. Until then, it should be no surprise to anyone that Engineering will remain the de facto PvP profession.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXsY7uonRzC8WRmIBcR_4RvEbLY4QV15zwlO_BMpkg9gxy3XJ2QDhec5a7xp7JfNDI7POLFa_oE21jwcO8cU_cbAdNdtTv4Pw7-Gyj4UZ2v90hFU9SM_O8tMo_q47v4n-spqpS/s1600/PalaEng.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXsY7uonRzC8WRmIBcR_4RvEbLY4QV15zwlO_BMpkg9gxy3XJ2QDhec5a7xp7JfNDI7POLFa_oE21jwcO8cU_cbAdNdtTv4Pw7-Gyj4UZ2v90hFU9SM_O8tMo_q47v4n-spqpS/s400/PalaEng.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506042692656062562" border="0" /></a>Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-19480387511242334372010-08-14T12:02:00.004+01:002010-08-14T13:07:00.745+01:00Long Arm of the Law - Ret's New Gap-Closer. [12759]<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFDeqWMih5Tz5Wtd97Gkyhkbd_yNnXhpA3VcRgEI5532phco2PV26mgkXXpnalWuKiulqLe6LXnJm7GCWK11x_zEE2YqKUZRHgcrsHQL0CBA2CJzLRLUt2FOvAs1EcYuyZgfnP/s1600/Sprint.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 64px; height: 64px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFDeqWMih5Tz5Wtd97Gkyhkbd_yNnXhpA3VcRgEI5532phco2PV26mgkXXpnalWuKiulqLe6LXnJm7GCWK11x_zEE2YqKUZRHgcrsHQL0CBA2CJzLRLUt2FOvAs1EcYuyZgfnP/s400/Sprint.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505234804345989186" /></a>New Beta builds inevitably mean new Paladin changes, and yesterdays' is no different. The talent calculators haven't been updated quite yet but <a href="http://twitter.com/cursenetwork">Curse Networks</a> twitter feed released a few very interesting changes. I know a number of Retribution Paladins will be very interested in them:<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">Improved Judgement </span>- Now increases Judgement range by 10/20 yards.</blockquote><br /><br />Okay, so a longer range Judgement for Ret (and other specs willing to throw two talents in Tier 1 Ret). Longer range always represents a DPS increase in encounters with target switching so that's a flat buff to the talent, even though the cooldown reduction is no a factor. PvP considerations would be more significant if the Judgement debuff still limited run-speed to 100% (as Judgement of Justice does now), but this effect has been rolled into Seal of Justice's debuff (as opposed to a minor stun). The trade-off therefore is one of damage for utility when choosing your PvP Seal, and it should be interesting to see if Judgement will be able to proc SoJ's speed limiting effect.<br /><br />We then come to the gap-closer:<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">Long Arm of the Law </span>(tier 3): 50/100% chance; 30% move speed buff for 4 sec when using Judgement on targets >= 15 yds away.</blockquote><br /><br />As gap closer's go, it's an interesting mechanic. The principle is that if your target is a long distance away you've got some ability to close the gap, but staying on a close (<15 yard) target requires some utility cooldowns if that target has snares/sprints of their own. In PvE it's a straight buff for target-switching encounters such as Professor Putricide where time-on-target is paramount.<br /><br />On the flip-side, this talent is a sprint, not a snare. As such, snares against you will still be very effective and mean that closing the gap to competent Hunters and Mages will remain a difficult proposition. Equally, staying in melee range will be harder due to the lack of Judgement of Justice, possibly necessitating the use of SoJ in place of a Seal which deals significant damage. I'm also not sure if Pursuit of Justice is still a part of the Cataclysm talent trees. Another point worth investigating is just how close to someone you can get in 4 seconds at 30% speed from 15-30 yards away.<br /><br />And yeah, I'd call it the 'Swift Hand of Justice' if there weren't already a trinket by that name.<br /><br />Other interesting changes revealed were:<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sanctity of Battle</span>: Causes haste to reduce the cooldown of Crusader Strike.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Divine Storm </span>buffed to 150% weapon damage (from 90%) with 3 Holy Power.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Hammer of the Righteous </span>- Hits target for 39% weapon dmg, all other targets in range for x to y holy dmg. 4.5 sec cooldown.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Divine Favor </span>- Increases spell casting haste/crit by 20% for 20 sec. 3 min cooldown.</blockquote><br /><br />As well as the new graphic for Holy Power charges.<br /><br />I'm highly unconvinced by Haste reducing the cooldown of Crusader Strike unless CS's base cooldown has increased significantly (beyond the current 4.5s). The 1.5sec Global Cooldown on most Ret abilities result in this only effective when haste brings CS's cooldown close to whole multiple of 1.5s (give or take latency), and tbh I'm really struggling to see the point. Hopefully there'll be more information on how this works soon.<br /><br />Finally, Eskostar in the <a href="http://elitistjerks.com/f76/t102489-way_sword_retribution_cataclysm/p15/#post1724412">Elitist Jerks Cataclysm Change for Ret</a> thread mentions an explicit change to <span style="font-weight:bold;">Divine Purpose</span>: 40% chance to generate holy power on <span style="font-weight:bold;">Judgement, Exorcism, Templar's Verdict, Divine Storm, Inquisition and Holy Wrath</span>. This greatly increases the Holy Power generation rate, though whether you'd spend this HP on anything other than Templar's Verdict/Divine Storm is another question.Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-73279638847956770032010-07-30T15:30:00.007+01:002010-07-30T17:37:35.548+01:00First Hints of the Powers of the Ancient KingsBeta Build 12664 hit last night, and there's not a whole lot that needs to be said about it. As always MMO-Champion has the full listings for all classes, aswell as a few very cool screenshots, so <a href="http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/1895-Cataclysm-Beta-Build-12644">check it out</a>. There's not a whole lot to say about the build, like the last couple they've tinkered around the edges but not changed the fundamentals much. Here are my highlights for Paladins:<br /><br /><blockquote><li><span style="font-weight:bold;">Vindication </span>talent now causes Holy Wrath to have a chance ('chance' has to be one of the worst words in Talents, it's so woolly) for an AoE 10% Physical Damage debuff (i.e. Demo Shout). Overall a good change, but as always you have to question exactly what is meant by 'a chance'.</li><br /><li><span style="font-weight:bold;">Avenging Shield </span>is cemented as part of the Protection Paladins' rotation as the cooldown is reduced to 20 secs via talents and it has have a chance to be reset on successful Crusader Strikes.</li><br /><li><span style="font-weight:bold;">Holy Shield</span>'s duration is increased from 15 to 20 seconds. Looks like they were listening to what I said last week about the problematic way that HS interacts with CS, but even at 20sec the problem remains. Crusader Strike remains an unreliable means of generating Holy Power for Protection, especially at lower tiers of content, and so virtually all HP would remain spent on HS. Prot could do with a higher rate of HP generation or more reliable means of generation less susceptible to the whims of RNG. However even that sticks in the craw somewhat when Warriors get 10% additional block passively (scaled by Mastery) <i>and</i> critical blocking effects.</li><br /><li><span style="font-weight:bold;">Art of War </span>is no longer as likely to be 'always up' with a nerf to 15% chance to proc, but the tighter rotation makes this feel less of an issue and just allows other spells to get a look-in.</li><br /><li><span style="font-weight:bold;">Imp. Crusader Strike </span>is back and reduces the cooldown of CS from 4 to 3 seconds (with two points invested). Spam, spam, spammy spam spam. Not a great fan of this, but it does tend to close down the available GCD-space, hence making decisions of other spells to use more meaningful.</li><br /><li><span style="font-weight:bold;">Seal of Justice </span>see's a change in the tooltip - no longer stuns the target, instead limits its' maximum run speed. So far this isn't reflected in the MMO-Champ or WoWHead Cataclysm spell databases so we really don't know what it means. It may be that the 100% run speed limitation is being removed from the Judgement and instead is a Seal proc debuff (bleh change IMO), or it may be that it's a more meaningful Snare. This is one that needs to be tested (and me with a broken Beta account, Oy!)</blockquote><br /><br />There's not really an awful lot to talk about then - they're tinkering around the edges but not changing too much from previous builds. I still think Protection doesn't have a really distinct flavour in Cataclysm so far, though chucking out Avengers Shield regularly may help. To a certain extent leveraging in Holy Power more should tend to help, but I'm of the opinion that more reactive defensive abilities would be a boon to making the spec more fun. We shall see what the future hols in this regard.<br /><br />Anyway, that's boring stuff. So in an effort to be less boring, lets have a look at <a href="http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=86150">Guardian of Ancient Kings</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqug6KvONdauFeU52fwraIgPZJZfcObysiwDonF8ZtvtwvMuiA8Odf6FZc_gDxEvhdpI6hvTA_hwPKecPVAq28rpxH7D-vhBcr1NYG654uo3hvnS_GgsxczqpmkTzyEbXVq-Kt/s1600/GuardianofAK.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 390px; height: 112px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqug6KvONdauFeU52fwraIgPZJZfcObysiwDonF8ZtvtwvMuiA8Odf6FZc_gDxEvhdpI6hvTA_hwPKecPVAq28rpxH7D-vhBcr1NYG654uo3hvnS_GgsxczqpmkTzyEbXVq-Kt/s400/GuardianofAK.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499727887842433554" /></a><br /><br />The Guardian is our level 85 spell and as you can see has different effects depending on the specialisation you have chosen. Note that duration of the Guardian's manifestation is as yet unknown, but we can at least make the educated guess that for Protection it'll last approx. 12 seconds to match up with Shield Wall. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Protection</span>: Summons the Ancient Protector, reducing the damage you take by 60%. However it's possible that during this time the Guardian is killable, making the duration potentially quite short. Currently, the duration is unknown.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Holy</span>: Summons the Ancient Healer, who can cast Light of the Ancient Kings:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr7I7wMQNZNZKZYhrXEMu8iMVZKjdFTqosVQKNwh6d4T5_fXAHJ4iDSeqCtlfVUj_9GKDSag4llCmveGQ9g79w3swDh9TnW4xl5HDmECtg965IKrIB4Be6OnL8zdyKdNw4bJK2/s1600/LotAK.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 376px; height: 87px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr7I7wMQNZNZKZYhrXEMu8iMVZKjdFTqosVQKNwh6d4T5_fXAHJ4iDSeqCtlfVUj_9GKDSag4llCmveGQ9g79w3swDh9TnW4xl5HDmECtg965IKrIB4Be6OnL8zdyKdNw4bJK2/s400/LotAK.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499714148721739762" /></a><br /><br />This heal should scale with <i>your</i> Spell Power, and it'd be pretty cool if it also scaled with your haste at the same time. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Retribution</span>: Summons the Ancient Crusader, who fights by your side and strengthens your attacks.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZKAFYQSEEnXCrpNir-mQvMzdHvNKkDju9y3kAJWk4lgZp66rWG71xwX7dBKUwOGD2SpZSy04nqbMRGPVnM4kLM0Gb6GUTKhbh7PVf2ehYLdgv4LVYz9TXLNCzD-k-acr1zUsP/s1600/AncCrus.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 389px; height: 76px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZKAFYQSEEnXCrpNir-mQvMzdHvNKkDju9y3kAJWk4lgZp66rWG71xwX7dBKUwOGD2SpZSy04nqbMRGPVnM4kLM0Gb6GUTKhbh7PVf2ehYLdgv4LVYz9TXLNCzD-k-acr1zUsP/s400/AncCrus.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499733590576844514" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjOj02rFVTC-2n6z24FcPAGcHMTdQQzrCIfEZqOkJdjjhLUwCc81vG_uC4FJBQiKfE4Jpjbfb92zTTnN9u6dBwnivrVvICjAlsP_qPKl_5BZ4feESbL8hYjJlD71W2vvvlIFqf/s1600/AncPower.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 390px; height: 125px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjOj02rFVTC-2n6z24FcPAGcHMTdQQzrCIfEZqOkJdjjhLUwCc81vG_uC4FJBQiKfE4Jpjbfb92zTTnN9u6dBwnivrVvICjAlsP_qPKl_5BZ4feESbL8hYjJlD71W2vvvlIFqf/s400/AncPower.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499733200885881954" /></a><br /><br />So, something akin to the Shadowmourne weapon proc. It's unknown if the 20 Str buff starts to stack as it attacks, or starts at a full stack which reduces as it attacks. In addition, the damage done by the Ancient Crusader itself is as yet unknown.<br /><br />Something of a mixed bag really. The Guardians may turn out to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSZhHLkIfkc">look awesome</a> and be very powerful, but they probably won't change playstyle very much. Protection Paladins especially may feel short-changed as the Guardian is merely a slightly more powerful version of a spell they already got at baseline (Divine Protection). All three are very much 'fire and forget', though only in the case of one spec does it synergise with other cooldowns.<br /><br />If the offensive potential of the Guardian + Avenging Wrath + Zealotry is deemed to be overly strong expect them to become mutually exclusive later on in the Beta (as with Divine Sheild, Divine Protection, Lay on Hands and AW currently).<br /><br /><br /><i>with thanks to <a href="http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/743825-Guardian-of-Ancient-Kings">Lebeau on the MMO-Champion</a> forums for drawing the threads together.</i>Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-25047991685943719472010-07-23T18:15:00.015+01:002010-10-15T16:20:10.412+01:00Holy Power - The Story So Far.<img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 100px; height: 103px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrnwDEzDFWu8eNU2BFAwsJUEUEFxZmcu-lOT9TMvvuaQWfX78FmZz48dJ2gYSV5cBnU145qd5-OQdJUl7036oJa-5EKA8yyJSJzOte0xYP8-0jweNH5qhTCFhXJTPCWMIxv05o/s800/TriSeal.jpg" alt="" id="Tri-Seal" border="0" /><span style="font-style: italic;">This article is an effort to consolidate information for the new Holy Power resource for quick access. This information is current of Cataclysm Beta Build 12759, 15.08.10. Edited 16.08.10 to correct a few things</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Background and UI Element</b><br /><br />In patch 12759 a new UI 'meter' element for Holy Power was added, which in time will replace the stacking buff seen on earlier screenshots.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://suicidalzebra.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/HPAnim.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 230px; height: 115px;" src="http://suicidalzebra.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/HPAnim.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Click <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiquHliwFtpK3qBQHaBArp_wMMnlaQC3p7NhVAg2G57XHi3FkJit06cnRcCsgemQNrc8cP1IsdzQFEe7Rw_DrrLLe9uqM0C3pR_xTHXcRsBWH4_KJNyaCPOeJVtzEByj-vcCQJr/s1600/HPStatic.jpg">here</a> for the non-animated version</i><br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Holy Power </span>is a brand new auxiliary resource for all three Paladin specs designed to add complexity and versatility to the class. Some think of it as an analogue to Runic Power or Combo Points as it shares features of both these more established mechanics.<br /><br /><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 314px; height: 117px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvKBWr-8clb6CrexS5plwrO6qOfdadWzgUaOSabYwyKwA1lCho2IM7y1XOJZzeUBVw5toRbP9vDu5WYDNAnLOOH9s-y11bfSDp9qc__F3_ol7OH8VuB615mSGP3ahhdzTFZGR8/s400/Crusader+Strike.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497142212973343218" border="0" /><br />As the Class is split between ranged caster and melee combatant models generating Holy Power differs a little between the specs. At baseline a successful <span style="font-weight: bold;">Crusader Strike </span>allows you to generate 1 Holy Power, up to a maximum of three. Once you reach level 10 the Class starts to diverge in functionality, and more options for generating Holy Power become available.<br /><br /><b>Holy</b><br /><br /><blockquote><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 64px; height: 64px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHbz5kcODvAUEu34oiyi7mVt_Yq2eKDHtDUmOIsbqkBpIsmcvrTatwp3nIXuhyphenhyphenNWOH4Plzw6eu812p_ZTSab2aDtKxhxyuAC6mclpkbmnnOJV7hhaXtcthb1x4W4Z2grmaeotm/s400/spell_holy_searinglight.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497146493609094642" border="0" /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Holy Shock </span>is Holy's specialisation bonus spell. It has a 6 sec cooldown which obviously is a guaranteed hit when used as a Heal, but will generate 1 Holy Power so long as its successfully cast. Unlike the sources of Holy Power for other specs this is probably the most fail-safe method, befitting of a healing spec.<br /><br /><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 64px; height: 64px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-eRI8hsMdnSwHoMmvgGtnQ6dJfCMHOfwbAtl6kU0A1hBbp8bxwOaPz2lAX_ctgA945DO_NlrlYqqpF6NNS8ilfOvGvtcG5tcsXmrcqMEcPShmD4pEYidwRiQmT3NG42ul4PzR/s400/achievement_bg_winsoa.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497146671039792706" border="0" /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tower of Radiance </span>is a Tier 6 Holy Talent, hence it is available much later in the game. It gives you a chance, dependant on the number of points you allocate to the talent and up to 100% for 3 points, to generate Holy Power when you directly heal your Beacon of Light target.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Crusader Strike </span>is also still available, but isn't usually effective as a healer due to melee range. As there are no talents to improve it, it retains its' 4.5 sec cooldown.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Blessed Life</span> has been changed as of build 12759. It will now cause attacks against you to generate 1 Holy Power (occurs once every 2 seconds). Feels mainly like a PvP talent unless it can also proc from encounter AoE.</blockquote><br /><br /><b>Protection</b><br /><br /><blockquote><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 64px; height: 64px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYR4jmtnsBzf5F_1p3XGyMRiV7HfqmGw0jhN3HCsc5el84ExnfTkhyHouABlkBh79g37fhzG8Sq7Y8xISnZALYD_zYK0cXkikygio_lUyINFwuNhQFUWIqzK-GvEgS7Om_romX/s400/spell_holy_crusaderstrike.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497146880836699042" border="0" />In a change from the Wrath of the Lich King Paladin, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Crusader Strike </span>is available when tanking too. It tends to have a 4.5 sec effective cooldown due to a busy rotation.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hammer of the Righteous </span>has been retooled to generate Holy Power on successful cast as of build 12759, but not on a per-target basis. It shares a cooldown with Crusader Strike, but should be a guaranteed HP rather than based on the vagaries of Hit and Expertise.<br /></blockquote><br /><br /><b>Retribution</b><br /><br /><blockquote>Retribution probably has it easiest in terms of generating Holy Power in the current build. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Crusader Strike </span>is the specs bread-and-butter strike, generally used on an effective 4.5secs due to once again a busy rotation or 3 second cooldown with sufficient Haste, and still generates 1 Holy Power. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sanctity of Battle</span> will cause Haste to reduce the cooldown of Crusader Strike (though GCD's remain a limiting factor to this effect), 3 seconds will likely be the lowest effective cooldown you can reach, though YMMV with latency).<br /><br /><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 64px; height: 64px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO8rajG5sA6N9KY4c9hD_WtLGb1qFU3Hc_tcEwoFEO_YP6pB0pVaQRvkWUWpOlvgNXkEkOUNTgxbtQz5E859jmPaMUzowwx9pfd2LLKXeMDZhDX-EcOCm7sMm57Kr323XtVDxS/s400/spell_holy_divinepurpose.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497147211641884274" border="0" />In addition, Retribution gains the passive talent <span style="font-weight: bold;">Divine Purpose </span>in Tier 4. This allows successful casts of Judgement, Exorcism, Templar's Verdict, Divine Storm, Inquisition, Holy Wrath a 40% chance to generate 1 Holy Power, leading to a higher Holy Power generation rate than tends to be the case with Protection and Holy.<br /><br /><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 64px; height: 64px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlluSNtGAbU_S_DfVUffJ-HdK467pLfxLZiIL_svmkXhr7xpRhIx5vu_oEClNWmr6-3RpXnHdhayqd-K4BWsd5AcwAMPdds1pjYxRwcatvtG3J4o2emla-ZdP-RyPqp_7QZcc0/s400/spell_holy_proclaimchampion_02.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497147659338242354" border="0" /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Zealotry </span>is Retribution's Tier 7 talent. When activated, successful Crusader Strikes hits generate a full 3 applications of Holy Power. In the current build this buff lasts for 15 seconds, allowing up to 4 of these augmented Strikes, and has a 2 min cooldown.<br /><br />Finally there is Hand of Light, Retributions lvl80 Mastery Effect. It imbues your Auto-attacks with an 8% chance to cause your next cast skill that consumes Holy Power be as effective as if you spent 3 Holy Power on it. If that weren't enough, said spell would also cost no Holy Power. Mastery Rating, present on gear above level 80, increases the chance of your Auto-Attacks triggering this effect.</blockquote><br /><br />Generating Holy Power would matter not at all unless there was something to spend it on. Thankfully, there are right now a few means of spending Holy Power, but it should be noted that every spell that uses Holy Power <span style="font-weight: bold;">consumes all applications of it</span>.<br /><br />All specialisations can take advantage of a brand new spell for Cataclysm, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Word of Glory</span>. This is an instant cast direct heal which scales with Spell Power and the amount of Holy Power consumed. <br /><br />If damage or threat is your thing, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Inquisition </span>if for you. This self-buff consumes Holy Power to grant you 30% increased Holy Damage, but also costs 20% base mana as well as your Holy Power. The buff lasts for 4 seconds per application of Holy Power used, 10 seconds with Retribution's <span style="font-weight: bold;">Inquiry of Faith </span>talent. Depending on gear levels, Inquisition may prove to be a sub-par use of Holy Power compared to Shield of the Righteous due to its' 12sec max duration.<br /><br /><b>Holy</b><br /><br /><blockquote><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 64px; height: 64px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdKcX2rmPyqpcQns4vaGlQ721rkYO08pBljie_XtDWXTfkGJpwPE2LflywGzJgU2XfLtNuUb9KpNqtBKWVqaZiYAXtzoRXWXBmpUvdwPU8Y_Dg1ZEDTYMtIrSoMLS75HOgLHNN/s400/WordofGlory_placeh.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498938012974124914" border="0" />None Specific to Holy, yet. Unsurprisingly however <span style="font-weight: bold;">Word of Glory </span>should be a much more effective spell for this spec.</blockquote><br /><br /><b>Protection</b><br /><br /><blockquote><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 64px; height: 64px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifQEZ78xcohaecNtFnxuYPBzItkSLYdp0slLvc5ajVqIGL8zWpC-Em7UgN5g5OsZyCBR7eXkStTlbmmlrHYrBWolM77BN33VJ12wCnYmCFNrtQ4vMNsFK7Vt30WFzs85nj0XFU/s400/spell_holy_blessingofprotection.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497148087044105346" border="0" /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Shield of the Righteous</span> replaces Holy Shield as your active threat gen talent which scales according to Holy Power. Instant Cast, no cooldown, 6% base mana cost.<br /><br />1 Holy Power: 20% Attack Power<br />2 Holy Power: 60% Attack Power<br />3 Holy Power: 120% Attack Power<br /><br />If you take the talent <span style="font-weight: bold;">Holy Shield</span> (now a passive talent) you gain 5% block per Holy Power consumed when Shield of the Righteous or Inquisition is cast. You therefore have the option of a quick burst of threat via SotR, or the more gradual threat boost of Inquisition. Holy Shield lasts 20 seconds, regardless of the spell you choose. Reliability is once again the watch-word though, so Hit and Expertise Capping to ensure predictable Holy Power generation is a big deal.</blockquote><br /><br /><b>Retribution.</b><br /><br /><blockquote><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 64px; height: 64px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-K8hy0UU-mpbwTXXdl8Pve6MpFseNvBa1w5WEs0AKtJodtdxnA0a7RYe2X0FdB1RQIkoXssJldyFqN5FMYSl70qs301lhyVQ0g9bIrG6lYFv_-7xzI-XMgQEHMJt_LDocRrnc/s400/Divine_Storm.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497149521393735330" border="0" /><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 64px; height: 64px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWWj0nMHAwq6lFmCxNWdlyjF7-NhZ9h7za2juHFpHchUTbUlPVNWf1kPutYJRajoYqBledYT7WhqQ9yBaWUVKsJQ_fQqxaBVbJ99ecTy2uJV4nqX2oxE9r9BNkdq3b7r-nmNHo/s400/TemplarVerdict.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497149425815921074" border="0" />This is where we see the rough stuff. First, there's <span style="font-weight: bold;">Templar's Verdict</span>, a new heavy hitting melee strike. The spell is currently a specialisation bonus for Retribution, and so should become available at level 10. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Divine Storm </span>by contrast is still an AoE attack scaling from weapon damage, and makes an appearance at Tier 3. It too consumes Holy Power, but isn't as effective in single-target encounters and so should only be used when there are three or more targets in range.<br /><br />The damage breakdown per application of Holy Power consumed is as follows:<br /><table style="text-align: left; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" border="1"><tbody><tr align="center"><td>Holy Power Consumed</td><td>Divine Storm</td><td>Templar's Verdict</td></tr><tr align="center"><td>1</td><td>22%</td><td>55%</td></tr><tr align="center"><td>2</td><td>74%</td><td>125%</td></tr><tr align="center"><td>3</td><td>150%</td><td>225%</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><br />TV and DS are effectively mutually exclusive - use of either ability is determined by the number of enemies in range of DS.<br /><br />Last but not least, there's Zealotry. Somewhat frustratingly it requires 3 applications of Holy Power to Cast, making correct timing to get the most out of this skill critical. Beta build 13189 changed Zealotry so that those 3 Holy Power aren't consumed by Zealotry itself, but this change hasn't been pushed to Live servers. <br /></blockquote><br /><br /><b>Impact on Playstyle</b><br /><br />Holy will naturally tend to have more flexibility and mobility thanks mainly to the new talents and spells, but the Holy Power requirement requires more active resource management than is required by current design. Holy Power has also nicely added compensation in for healing the usually sub-optimal Beacon of Light target. The concept of a healing rotation starts to develop in conjunction with talents, raising the specs skill cap.<br /><br />Protection gets the short end of the stick relatively speaking. Capping Hit and Expertise (i.e. eliminating dodge) is imperative to ensure constant Holy Shield up-time. It's not hard to see how this could tie a Paladin's tanking rotation into knots. Holy Power generation in single-target situations simply isn't reliable enough to warrant spending it on anything other than Holy Shield unless the amount healed by Word of Glory is significantly more than we're expecting in Tier 11 content.<br /><br />It's tempting to say that Holy Power has probably had the most impact on Retribution, and I think it's quite true. However management of cooldowns remains the back-bone of the spec, and mana concerns may once again rear their head with the removal of Judgement of Wisdom. Good Ret Paladins will probably be those who can effectively weave together Crusader Strike and Templar's Verdict to maximise the damage caused when TV is cast, however the best Paladins will manage TV independent of CS and solely based on Holy Power meter. Eternal Glory (20/40% that WoG doesn't consume Holy Power) may tempt more players into using Word of Glory, but that's still an average cost of two thirds of a Templar's Verdict. The amount healed by WoG is probably critical when assessing the value of that talent, but one 'free' WoG per minute may be a better talent.<br /><br /><b>Summary</b><br /><br />Thus far, Holy Power adds a lot of potential to the class which isn't fully exploited as yet. Zealotry also needs a review as Ret may find itself unable to use a large proportion of the extra Holy Power generated because Hand of Light and Divine Purpose procs. Another Wings-style damage cooldown seems like a shame compared to a more interesting 31pt talent.<br /><br />So, a good start. Hopefully more to come as the Beta progresses.Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-61583272943643043492010-07-21T10:08:00.006+01:002010-07-21T22:08:40.060+01:00Paladin Changes for Beta Build [12539]<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrnwDEzDFWu8eNU2BFAwsJUEUEFxZmcu-lOT9TMvvuaQWfX78FmZz48dJ2gYSV5cBnU145qd5-OQdJUl7036oJa-5EKA8yyJSJzOte0xYP8-0jweNH5qhTCFhXJTPCWMIxv05o/s800/TriSeal.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 103px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrnwDEzDFWu8eNU2BFAwsJUEUEFxZmcu-lOT9TMvvuaQWfX78FmZz48dJ2gYSV5cBnU145qd5-OQdJUl7036oJa-5EKA8yyJSJzOte0xYP8-0jweNH5qhTCFhXJTPCWMIxv05o/s800/TriSeal.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="Tri-Seal" /></a>Changes, so delicious. Mmmmmmm<br /><br />..<br /><br />Yes, well. A new build is up, and the Paladin Changes are listed. And my, they are tasty. Holy Power has been implemented, Templar's Verdict is in, Holy gets a Sprint and Ret gets cake. No, not cake, what's it called.<br /><br />Ah yes....<br /><br />AN INTERRUPT.<br /><br />I'm not going to outline all the changes, you can easily look at MMO-Champ for those. World of Raids also has a comprehensive listing <a href="http://www.worldofraids.com/topic/17379-cataclysm-beta-build-12539-paladin-changes/">here</a> which differs slightly from MMO-Champions mined data. However I do want to pick out a few very specific changes in each spec and note a few changes still to come.<br /><br /><b>General</b><br /><br /><b>Holy Power</b> has been implemented. One point of Holy Power is generated for every successfully landed <b>Holy Shock</b> and <b>Crusader Strike</b>. Talents improve the rate at which you generate Holy Power.<br /><br />The passive mana regen effect of <b>Judgements of the Wise</b> is being rolled into both Prot and Ret Judgements passively as 40% base mana regenerated over 10 seconds. <b>Replenishment</b> will still be Ret-only secondary effect on Judgement. <b>Spiritual Attunement</b> and <b>Guarded by the Light</b> are being canned as mana regen abilities.<br /><br /><b>Divine Storm</b> - This skill may or may not be baseline, we just don't know yet. It's now the early Holy Power dump, doing AoE damage based on the number of HP charges consumed, and has no cooldown. I could bear to see the mana cost reduced by 50%, but there is nothing fundamentally wrong with this skill as long as it continues to proc Seals.<br /><br /><b>Seal of Light</b> and <b>Seal of Wisdom</b> have been rolled into one Seal - <b>Seal of the Pure</b>. This will also have an impact of Glyphing, obviously, but having these two Seals always was a little clunky.<br /><br /><b>Holy Changes</b><br /><br /><b>Word of Glory</b> is a brand new spell which consumes all Holy Power to instantly heal a target. Presumably the amount healed is proportional to your current Holy Power. MMO-Champ isn't logging this under Paladin spells but it is in the Database as <a href="http://db.mmo-champion.com/s/85673/word-of-glory/">Word of Glory</a>. Instant heals are always nice, but needing to chain 3 successful Holy Shocks before being able to cast it adds a little spice. <br /><br /><b>Speed of Light</b> - Casting Holy Shock grants 5/10/30% spell haste for your next Flash of Light, Holy Light or Divine Light, and casting Healing Hands grants you 10/20/60% movement speed for 10 sec. Also lowers the cooldown on Healing Hands by 10/20/30 sec at all times. Speaking of more mobility, here's a situational sprint. The talent seems very powerful right now and may well be nerfed as instant heals and 30sec cooldown sprints are a little OTT.<br /><br /><b>Beacon of Light</b> - Your Beacon is once again healed by all direct healing spells cast, but with only 50% effectiveness. To me, this seems like a sensible compromise, though we may even see this decrease a little as the Beta progresses simply because of Holy’s larger toolbox.<br /><br /><b>Pillar of Light</b> - Healing your Beacon also has a chance to generate Holy Power. It's important from a raiding perspective to make sure that healing your Beaconed target isn't too inefficient a use of your time, i.e. that if you absolutely have to heal the Beaconed player you don’t feel penalised for doing so, and this talent seems to fit the mould. <br /><br /><b>Light of Dawn</b> - Send a wave of healing energy before you, healing all friendly targets up to 30 yards away for X. Think of this as 'Cone of Healing', and it’s probably going to turn out to be a raid-only spell. Expect some smart-healing mechanic and upper boundary on total amount healed.<br /><br />Three new Healing spells and much more mobility mean that this is a very interesting update for Paladins. On the other hand, there's very little interaction thus far with Holy Power, especially at low levels (still don't know what level Paladins gain Word of Glory).<br /><br />Holy offense has been augmented with a baseline CS (potentially baseline DS, wew shall see), baseline 'hit all targets' Holy Wrath, Judgements and talented instant-cast Exorcism Proc.<br /><br /><b>Protection</b><br /><br /><b>Holy Shield</b> will now increase your Block Rate by 30% for 10 seconds plus a further 10 seconds for every Holy Power consumed, and deals damage to the attacker. 1 minute cooldown. This implies an increased block rate 2/3rd of the time. Expect a Glyph to drop the cooldown by ~25secs.<br /><br />Raidwall returns in the form of <b>Divine Guardian</b>, a straight-up raid-wide 20% damage reduction. Awesome.<br /><br />Talents which grant additional Stamina are gone, replaced by a passive +% Stamina bonus for choosing Protection. Much of the rest of the tree is made up of proc-based +damage (i.e. +Threat) talents rather than mitigation, which feels pretty wonky for a Tanking tree. In trying to make the talent leaner they seem to have run out of ideas, leading to a fixation on threat and making interesting threat rotations. Whilst holding threat is rightly important, it feels disappointing that you can’t change-up your rotation in order to reduce damage at the cost of threat.<br /><br /><b>Retribution</b><br /><br /><b>Templar's Verdict</b> it in, and it's awesome. However even though it has no cooldown it costs 20% base mana <i>and</i> requires Holy Power, making it a very expensive spell to utilise. It’s also mutually exclusive with Divine Storm because they both share Holy Power, a resource that is generated at a fixed rate when specced Ret. Without a more variable way to generate HP this spell may as well simply have a fixed cooldown shared with Divine Storm.<br /><br /><b>Zealotry</b> is a tough talent to assess. On one hand it allows for huge damage on cooldown through generation of Holy Power and dumping that into Templar's Verdict, but on the other hand your mana pool would swiftly get eaten. Divine Storm has the same problem, it's still a very expensive spell mana-wise. Word of Glory has no mana cost as yet, but it a healing spell. This ones going to be a tough one to balance, and may not survive the Beta. Also, the 30minute cooldown should just be a placeholder, it’s more likely that it’ll be 10 minute so it may be used on a ‘once per encounter’ basis but not in Arenas.<br /><br /><b>Inquisition</b> is just a rotation filler, similar to Rogue's Slice and Dice. You can't use it without Holy Power, but with a full 3/3 application it will last for 30 seconds. Mana cost seems utterly redundant as effective cost is one Templar's Verdict per 30 seconds (i.e. One of your 2 potential Templar's Verdicts).<br /><br /><b>Rebuke</b>* is a melee-range interrupt with no effective cost on a 10sec cooldown. Pretty much a kick, though it costs much less relative to our rotation (Kick costs 20 energy IIRC, no trifling amount). It's probably too cheap, so may well have a cost added to it at some point. Should still be off the GCD though, otherwise it would be effectively useless. Why isn't this available to Protection too? And will the animation be a Slap in the Face?<br /><br />Finally, <b>Art of War</b> no longer allows instant-cast heals. Word of Glory, an HP powered spell, is the effective replacement.<br /><br />There’ll be more tomorrow when I’ve had a chance to analyse things more deeply, but I think there’s still a few things missing before we can stick a fork in these Talents and call them done.<br /><br />UPDATE - World of Raids is reporting that melee attacks generating Holy Power is a specialisation bonus for Retribution. This makes the HP mechanic much more appealing.<br /><br />*Side note - Rebuke was one of the names suggested by the community for Hand of Reckoning.Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-80787574227205095432010-07-17T02:17:00.012+01:002010-07-17T03:51:57.669+01:00Holy Power: A New Paladin Complimentary Resource? (Via #BlizzChat)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrnwDEzDFWu8eNU2BFAwsJUEUEFxZmcu-lOT9TMvvuaQWfX78FmZz48dJ2gYSV5cBnU145qd5-OQdJUl7036oJa-5EKA8yyJSJzOte0xYP8-0jweNH5qhTCFhXJTPCWMIxv05o/s800/TriSeal.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 103px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrnwDEzDFWu8eNU2BFAwsJUEUEFxZmcu-lOT9TMvvuaQWfX78FmZz48dJ2gYSV5cBnU145qd5-OQdJUl7036oJa-5EKA8yyJSJzOte0xYP8-0jweNH5qhTCFhXJTPCWMIxv05o/s800/TriSeal.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="Tri-Seal" /></a>[Update]: Okay, this appears to be how it will work:<br /><br />Certain skills with very common usage in a spec, such as Crusader Strike for Ret and Holy Shock for Holy, will have a secondary effect. This effect will buff you with one application of <b>Holy Power</b>, up to a maximum of 3.<br /><br />The Holy Power buff will probably then give you a spec-specific boost, for example it might increase your Holy Damage by 1/2/3%. This in itself isn't too fun, it would just be providing a Vengeance for all three specs, but that's not the entirety of the mechanic.<br /><br />Holy Power stacks can be consumed (entirely) in order to cast specific new abilities, or boost existing spells. The effectiveness of these abilities would be proportional to how big the stack was, making sensible timing imperative. <br /><br />Significantly, in the same way that Seal of Vengeance has a ramp-up time for PvP balancing purposes so would all the Holy Power spells. This adds scope for new abilities and talents with dynamic durations that would require you to engage first, for example adding an interrupt talent to Ret that needs Holy Power, making fine tuning balance a far easier proposition.<br /><br />Done well, this new mechanic would add another layer of complexity to a class notorious for its' faceroll approach. No bad thing.<br /><br />---<br /><br />Just outlined on the Blizz developer chat:<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Q: What is the goal when re-designing the paladin class? How do you plan to change rotations, talents, etc?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">A. All of the paladin specializations will make use of a new resource called Holy Power. Holy Power accumulates from using Crusader Strike, Holy Shock, and some other talents. Holy Power can be consumed to augment a variety of abilities, including:</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"> * An instant mana-free heal: Word of Glory</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"> * A buff to increase holy damage done: Inquisition</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"> * A massive physical melee attack for Retribution paladins: Templar’s Verdict</span> [Templar's Verdict? Ace name!]<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"> * Holy Shield’s duration is now extended by Holy Power</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"> * Divine Storm’s damage is now increased by Holy Power</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">We also introduced several new heals for Holy Paladins including Healing Hands (an AoE heal-over-time that is applied to all players standing near the paladin), Light of Dawn (a cone heal with a 30-yard range), as well as a new heal called Divine Light, which is similar to a priest's Greater Heal, and the new instant heal mentioned above, Word of Glory. </span><br /><br />(<a href="http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=26137024331">Source</a>)</blockquote><br /><br />This sounds suspiciously like 'our' Runic Power, essentially an auxiliary resource for additional effects. Potentially it would be a huge shake-up to the class, but it may well be a bit more than can be balanced during a Beta phase. Remember though that this is Beta. Early Beta. Everything is subject to change.<br /><br />Oh, and they need to call it something else. I'm tempted to say "Awesome", but whatever the name I'll henceforth refer to it as just "the <a href="http://www.dpspaladin.blogspot.com/">Jong</a> Meter".<br /><br />--<br /><br />More on Templar's Verdict and Word of Glory:<br /><br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Q: Can you give us a sneak peek at one or two of the new Retribution abilities or talents?<br />A. Templar’s Verdict: An instant weapon attack that causes a percentage of weapon damage. Consumes all applications of Holy Power to increase damage dealt:<br /><br /> 1 Holy Power: 55% Weapon Damage<br /> 2 Holy Power: 125% Weapon Damage<br /> 3 Holy Power: 225% Weapon Damage<br /><br /><br />Word of Glory: Consumes all Holy Power to heal a friendly target for a specific amount per application of Holy Power (0 mana cost, 0 cooldown, instant cast). </blockquote><br /><br />So the resource won't be a continuous 1-100 'meter', rather a self-buff in the style of Vengeance which will be consumed when a particular spell is used. Call it a cross between Runic Power and Soulshards I suppose.<br /><br />The final word on Judgements is Wisdom is dead, Light and Justice are being baked into the same spell:<br /><br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Q: If Judgement of Wisdom is being removed from the game, are paladins getting a new Judgement so we don't all have to use Judgement of Light?<br />A. There will only be one Judgement spell. This spell places a single debuff on the target with the effects currently associated with Judgement of Light and Judgement of Justice. The Judgement of Wisdom effect has been retired completely.</blockquote>Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-77358328936892226182010-07-15T10:32:00.003+01:002010-07-15T14:03:55.185+01:00These Aren't the Beta Talent Trees You're Looking For.By now, you should have been able to have a look at the new talent trees on <a href="http://www.wowtal.com/">WOWTal.com</a> or similar. If you haven't, look now.<br /><br />Here is a look at the current Paladin talent trees.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUv9a8vtksQi5E77haMyZlwP6x4c3oCPvFnJEHTVWBGzCCyW-q8pLSIIREIAr6KcqTAETEQkjsoLrtDTyVStVTRZW4St2SzbmKp9NXg10MTp1D6W4sC1iy0dtm_xjNTtvvkhm/s1600/NotTalents.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUv9a8vtksQi5E77haMyZlwP6x4c3oCPvFnJEHTVWBGzCCyW-q8pLSIIREIAr6KcqTAETEQkjsoLrtDTyVStVTRZW4St2SzbmKp9NXg10MTp1D6W4sC1iy0dtm_xjNTtvvkhm/s400/NotTalents.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494112024934667650" border="0" /></a><br /><br />You might have expected a long and detailed analysis of Holy, Prot and Ret from me about now, or at least a brief snark over how awful they are. Well, panic not. From the mouth of Ghostcrawler:<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">"These are old talents. This is not the paladin revamp that we said was coming. Sorry, you'll just have to wait a little bit longer."</span>(<a href="http://blue.mmo-champion.com/t/25968569991/paladin-changes-build-12479/">Source</a>)<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">"Reactive Judgements [are] dead.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">[..]</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">I'm going to regret saying this, but the paladin trees are the most changed in the game. There are only a few of the current beta talents that survived the, um, cleansing."</span>(<a href="http://blue.mmo-champion.com/t/25968669894/holy-shield/">Source</a>)</blockquote><br /><br />Sound familiar? Well, with that in mind it seems totally pointless to jump off the deep end, tempted though we may be. In fact this is <i>almost</i> a shame. For all their faults there were a few gems in this build, such as a Sanctified Wrath which allowed Hammer of Wrath to be used whenever you're under the effects of Avenging Wrath, or a PvE-effective Eye for an Eye. Also the loss of Divine Purpose will hurt a lot if it goes ahead (no, the Mastery isn't a Stun break, it's passive mana regen). But oh well.<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">If we do one thing for class design in Cataclysm, it will be changing the paladin (all 3 specs) rotation up a bit!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">In the Ret case, we started with a basic question: what is it they should be managing? There are a lot of things they *could* be managing. Today it's cooldowns. It could be mana or procs or a lot of things. There was one Ret talent in particular we really liked, and we started building a rotation around it. Then we decided the mechanic was good enough to flesh out for Holy and Prot too.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">We're not ready to share the design just yet, and like all changes of this sort, it will be controversial. Some players crave a more interactive rotation. Some like their paladins the way they are. Some are only attracted to the class because it can be overpowered and they like to feel like a superhero</span>.(<a href="http://blue.mmo-champion.com/t/25968669894/holy-shield/">Source</a>)</blockquote><br /><br />Reflections on overpowered-ness aside, we should all be pretty happy with this mission statement. Shaking up rotations to differentiate the great Paladins from the merely 'good' is something that all specs should allow so long as it doesn't feel clunky or out of place with the class. It should be quite interesting to see just which talent or rotation they plan to implement, the only frequently used spell each spec has in common is Judgement so... okay, I got nothing, but it should be entertaining.<br /><br />There's one final thing worth mentioning, and that's the change to Holy Shield design.<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">We are going to turn both Holy Shield and Shield Block into short cooldowns. A short cooldown is an ability that you don't save for an absolute emergency (like Shield Wall) but we also don't want it to be on such a short cooldown that it feels maintenance-y. It's a tricky number to get right, but something in the 30 sec to 1 min zone feels about right. Then you might use Holy Shield one GCD instead of SoR or you can choose to save it until the next big boss attack.</span><br /><br />(<a href="http://blue.mmo-champion.com/t/25968669894/holy-shield/">Source</a>)<br /></blockquote><br /><br />This somewhat files in the face of previous announcements. Supposedly Tankadins were being designed to effectively block more often than Warriors, but for less mitigation per block. The effective removal of block value probably necessitated a convergence of Paladin and Warrior blocking mechanics, but this could potentially homogenise the classes too much. Should be interesting to see how it shakes out.Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36814800.post-51685584567870851302010-07-09T18:15:00.004+01:002010-07-09T18:46:35.394+01:00RealID Gone, for Now: Wherein I Show My Cynical NatureSo, the battle is won. Posting with your RealID is gone.<br /><br />For now.<br /><br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Hello everyone,<br /><br />I'd like to take some time to speak with all of you regarding our desire to make the Blizzard forums a better place for players to discuss our games. We've been constantly monitoring the feedback you've given us, as well as internally discussing your concerns about the use of real names on our forums. As a result of those discussions, <b>we've decided at this time that real names will not be required for posting on official Blizzard forums.</b><br /><br />It's important to note that we still remain committed to improving our forums. Our efforts are driven 100% by the desire to find ways to make our community areas more welcoming for players and encourage more constructive conversations about our games. We will still move forward with new forum features such as conversation threading, the ability to rate posts up or down, improved search functionality, and more. However, when we launch the new StarCraft II forums that include these new features, you will be posting by your StarCraft II Battle.net character name + character code, not your real name. The upgraded World of Warcraft forums with these new features will launch close to the release of Cataclysm, and also will not require your real name.<br /><br />I want to make sure it's clear that our plans for the forums are completely separate from our plans for the optional in-game Real ID system now live with World of Warcraft and launching soon with StarCraft II. We believe that the powerful communications functionality enabled by Real ID, such as cross-game and cross-realm chat, make Battle.net a great place for players to stay connected to real-life friends and family while playing Blizzard games. And of course, you'll still be able to keep your relationships at the anonymous, character level if you so choose when you communicate with other players in game. <b>Over time, we will continue to evolve Real ID on Battle.net to add new and exciting functionality within our games for players who decide to use the feature.</b><br /><br />In closing, I want to point out that our connection with our community has always been and will always be extremely important to us. We strongly believe that Every Voice Matters, ( http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/about/mission.html ) and we feel fortunate to have a community that cares so passionately about our games. We will always appreciate the feedback and support of our players, which has been a key to Blizzard's success from the beginning.<br /><br />Mike Morhaime<br />CEO & Cofounder<br />Blizzard Entertainment </blockquote><br /><br />In my first post on the subject I warned about a bait and switch by Activision-Blizzard over RealID, that they'd cancel it but institute something else in it's place slightly less abhorrent. Then significant numbers would come out and say 'hey, at least it's not RealID' and we'd all go along with it.<br /><br />This <b>would not be acceptable</b>.<br /><br />In the original RealID forum announcement it was stated that pre-upgrade posts simply can't be retroactively updated to show RealID, i.e. that the data wasn't captured. This will not be the case in the new forums, it's just that your RealID won't be shown.<br /><br />Remember the new T&C's? They still stipulate that you accept that your Real Name can be noted alongside your post. With the new forums they can flip a switch and start doing that <i>at any time</i>.<br /><br />Worse still, the creeping brief of Facebook integration and RealID is still open policy, nothing has changed in this regard except that opposition was perhaps more outspoken than they had anticipated.<br /><br />The more pompous amongst us may say that the price of privacy is eternal vigilance. The general point to make is still that you should be responsible for your own privacy on the internet, and every corporation that deals with your data has a responsibility to either keep everything locked up tight or allow you fine control over what you make public. The plan for the forums didn't allow that, it was their way or the highway, and that's the major reason why it was terrible.<br /><br />So, good work people! But don't make the mistake of thinking that this is the end of the matter.Suicidal Zebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09209267053163631586noreply@blogger.com3