brian_177
10-17-2008, 05:05 AM
As I'm sure any current World of Warcraft players know, to ease server strain when the expansion--Wrath of the Lich King--is released, Blizzard has released a massive, 800 megabyte patch that will bridge the gap between The Burning Crusade and Wrath.
Server load is horrendous right now, with most realms playing host to 45 minute queues as many people who set the game aside months ago jump back on the wagon and renew their addiction to the MMO sensation.
Myself? I'm a critic of the way Blizzard handles their server reloads each week and especially this patch release. What amazes me is that Blizzard is still surprised by server crashes and constant needs to perform rolling restarts across the entire game when they've been at this for so long. Surely after several years in the business they have learned at least a few things--but it appears this is not true.
Rather than not giving concrete estimates for servers being back online, Blizzard always insists on imposing a deadline on themselves. When I pay 15 dollars a month for this game, I expect Blizzard to deliver on time. However, rather than saying "This could take upwards of 24 hours" they put themselves on a 12 hour clock and end up screwing themselves----when the servers are still down five hours into play time, they just end up having to take the forums offline too when those servers are overloaded with complaints.
Tip from Brian to Blizzard: Don't tell us when the servers will be online, because we'll hold you to it.
-----------------------------------------------
Now onto some tips for dealing with Patch 3.0 for those who find themselves lost in the sea of lag, new features, and missing mounts.
First of all, addons!
Most mainstream addons are current undergoing rigorous update phases, such as but not limited to: Auctioneer, Cartographer, Omen, Deadly Boss Mod, PallyPower, X-Perl UnitFrames, and QuestHelper. However, in an effort to get us playing again as soon as possible, many of the addons' authors are putting the addons online perhaps too soon. Adequate testing is not possible at high speed--many of these addons took many months to make, and Patch 3.0 actually changes many fundamental game mechanics--something previous patches did not do.
What can you do? You WILL experience bugs if you don't wait a week or two to download your favourite addons again. When you do experience these bugs, do the authors of the addons a favour and go BACK to the site you downloaded to addon and post a comment refering the author(s) to investigate your bug(s). This helps everyone get back to pwning noobs ASAP.
Second, TALENTS!
ZOMG! If you hadn't read the patch notes before firing up the game, that was probably your reaction. Many mechanics have changed. For example, Spell Damage and Bonus Healing are not combined into one stat: Spell Power. This helps classes like Priests and Shaman switch between DPS/Healing rolls much easier.
With these new mechanics come many new skills, and the talent trees of every single class have been completely reworked. Some skills and talents have stayed and remained the same, some have undergone touch-ups, and there are also many new skills for you to use.
Since the talent trees have been changed, Blizzard felt nice enough to treat us all to a free respec. BE CAREFUL WITH THIS! Don't screw yourself over because you didn't do your research.
www.elitistjerks.com
Visit the forums on that site, and go to the class section. They will have excellent tips on your class and how to spec. Don't mess up and be forced to spend 50 gold on a re-talent because you put one point in the wrong place.
THIRD! Instances and Raids.
This is very nice for people trying to plough through PvE content before Wrath is released. All bosses have had their HP drastically reduced to facilitate easier destruction. Also, new skills and new mechanics mean that players are now doing FAR MORE Damage Per Second than they were before.
Today I raided Black Temple with my guild and we downed four bosses in record time (for us) and then continued on to another boss that we've had trouble downing for weeks. Bye bye, Reliquary of Souls dropped like a fly. Sure, it's totally not fair, but it will be nice to see bosses dead.
Bosses in instances (Heroic AND Normal) have also been nerfed.
With that said, you still have to be a half decent player to down raid bosses and bosses in Heroic instances. Lots of people are wasting their time dying in Heroic Instances because they think gear and skill no longer matters. Take your time, make a solid party, and you'll go through the instances way faster than before. Play stupid and form parties with a bunch of noobs: You'll die over and over, just like you did before.
That's all for now. There is of course a huge amount I could say about Patch 3.0, but this is just some quick info to get people started. Have fun!
PS: To my fellow hardcore PvPers--yes many classes now utterly and completely rape in Battlegrounds and Arenas. DO NOT QQ! Blizzard is aware of the issues, but you must consider that many classes have been changed make ready for skills obtained at level 80.
IF, at level 80, some classes still seem to dominate, Blizzard will patch them quickly.
Server load is horrendous right now, with most realms playing host to 45 minute queues as many people who set the game aside months ago jump back on the wagon and renew their addiction to the MMO sensation.
Myself? I'm a critic of the way Blizzard handles their server reloads each week and especially this patch release. What amazes me is that Blizzard is still surprised by server crashes and constant needs to perform rolling restarts across the entire game when they've been at this for so long. Surely after several years in the business they have learned at least a few things--but it appears this is not true.
Rather than not giving concrete estimates for servers being back online, Blizzard always insists on imposing a deadline on themselves. When I pay 15 dollars a month for this game, I expect Blizzard to deliver on time. However, rather than saying "This could take upwards of 24 hours" they put themselves on a 12 hour clock and end up screwing themselves----when the servers are still down five hours into play time, they just end up having to take the forums offline too when those servers are overloaded with complaints.
Tip from Brian to Blizzard: Don't tell us when the servers will be online, because we'll hold you to it.
-----------------------------------------------
Now onto some tips for dealing with Patch 3.0 for those who find themselves lost in the sea of lag, new features, and missing mounts.
First of all, addons!
Most mainstream addons are current undergoing rigorous update phases, such as but not limited to: Auctioneer, Cartographer, Omen, Deadly Boss Mod, PallyPower, X-Perl UnitFrames, and QuestHelper. However, in an effort to get us playing again as soon as possible, many of the addons' authors are putting the addons online perhaps too soon. Adequate testing is not possible at high speed--many of these addons took many months to make, and Patch 3.0 actually changes many fundamental game mechanics--something previous patches did not do.
What can you do? You WILL experience bugs if you don't wait a week or two to download your favourite addons again. When you do experience these bugs, do the authors of the addons a favour and go BACK to the site you downloaded to addon and post a comment refering the author(s) to investigate your bug(s). This helps everyone get back to pwning noobs ASAP.
Second, TALENTS!
ZOMG! If you hadn't read the patch notes before firing up the game, that was probably your reaction. Many mechanics have changed. For example, Spell Damage and Bonus Healing are not combined into one stat: Spell Power. This helps classes like Priests and Shaman switch between DPS/Healing rolls much easier.
With these new mechanics come many new skills, and the talent trees of every single class have been completely reworked. Some skills and talents have stayed and remained the same, some have undergone touch-ups, and there are also many new skills for you to use.
Since the talent trees have been changed, Blizzard felt nice enough to treat us all to a free respec. BE CAREFUL WITH THIS! Don't screw yourself over because you didn't do your research.
www.elitistjerks.com
Visit the forums on that site, and go to the class section. They will have excellent tips on your class and how to spec. Don't mess up and be forced to spend 50 gold on a re-talent because you put one point in the wrong place.
THIRD! Instances and Raids.
This is very nice for people trying to plough through PvE content before Wrath is released. All bosses have had their HP drastically reduced to facilitate easier destruction. Also, new skills and new mechanics mean that players are now doing FAR MORE Damage Per Second than they were before.
Today I raided Black Temple with my guild and we downed four bosses in record time (for us) and then continued on to another boss that we've had trouble downing for weeks. Bye bye, Reliquary of Souls dropped like a fly. Sure, it's totally not fair, but it will be nice to see bosses dead.
Bosses in instances (Heroic AND Normal) have also been nerfed.
With that said, you still have to be a half decent player to down raid bosses and bosses in Heroic instances. Lots of people are wasting their time dying in Heroic Instances because they think gear and skill no longer matters. Take your time, make a solid party, and you'll go through the instances way faster than before. Play stupid and form parties with a bunch of noobs: You'll die over and over, just like you did before.
That's all for now. There is of course a huge amount I could say about Patch 3.0, but this is just some quick info to get people started. Have fun!
PS: To my fellow hardcore PvPers--yes many classes now utterly and completely rape in Battlegrounds and Arenas. DO NOT QQ! Blizzard is aware of the issues, but you must consider that many classes have been changed make ready for skills obtained at level 80.
IF, at level 80, some classes still seem to dominate, Blizzard will patch them quickly.