Shaman will get their talent review in 1.11

[MongoJerry]

According to Eyonix, shaman will get their talent review in 1.11 in addition to mages:

Your review will be completed in 1.11, along with the Mage -- just thought you'd like to know. :P

We'll talk more soon...

So, that's two class talent reviews plus the addition of a huge major dungeon in one patch? I don't think we'll be seeing this thing until the end of June.

[Quark]

Well, given the different teams, my guess was that the raid instance was pushing the patch back long enough by itself that the class team managed to get enough of Shamans done to force the issue.

At least Rogues should be 1.12 now ...

[Artega]

According to Eyonix, shaman will get their talent review in 1.11 in addition to mages:
So, that's two class talent reviews plus the addition of a huge major dungeon in one patch?  I don't think we'll be seeing this thing until the end of June.
[right][snapback]106532[/snapback][/right]

I'd rather they actually QA test their patches before turning them out, as opposed to the insane rate they're turning them out right now. Mannoroth has been screwed up ever since 1.10, and I guarantee it's a problem caused by one of the changes, most likely weather.

WTB QA Team for patches.

[MongoJerry]

On The Core guild message boards, someone said he'd be mad if Blizzard didn't add a Blood Lust ability, and Zylonis, one of our shamans, said:

And yeah, the laziest thing blizzard could do is add a melee version of PI as the 31 point enhancement talent, call it Bloodlust, and I'm sure no one would complain :-P

After staring at that statement for a few minutes, I'd bet good money that he's right. After all, it is the enhancement tree that needs the most work, so it wouldn't surpise me to see some unbelievable talent like that added to the end of the tree.

Blood Lust executes. Yum!

[Rinnhart]

I'd rather they actually QA test their patches before turning them out, as opposed to the insane rate they're turning them out right now.  Mannoroth has been screwed up ever since 1.10, and I guarantee it's a problem caused by one of the changes, most likely weather.

WTB QA Team for patches.
[right][snapback]106537[/snapback][/right]

Alright, I lol'd.

Blizzard's patch schedule is remarkably tame compared to other MMO's.

Granted, there are still major, major issues that should have been caught on test.

[Lissa]

On The Core guild message boards, someone said he'd be mad if Blizzard didn't add a Blood Lust ability, and Zylonis, one of our shamans, said:
After staring at that statement for a few minutes, I'd bet good money that he's right.  After all, it is the enhancement tree that needs the most work, so it wouldn't surpise me to see some unbelievable talent like that added to the end of the tree.

Blood Lust executes.  Yum!
[right][snapback]106543[/snapback][/right]

WTB real talent review for Pally, Warrior, and Warlock.

[nobbie]

Mannoroth has been screwed up ever since 1.10, and I guarantee it's a problem caused by one of the changes, most likely weather.

Anyone noticed the ugly "border" around the graphics of the Warlock's pet skill bars in 1.10? It was there since the beginning of the patch 1.10 testing and did not get fixed.

Another graphical error is now in the char selection screen, which you'll notice if you look a bit closer. The Tauren female faces (the female face type with the two stripes on both sides of the nose, to be precise) have now the left side of their lips hanging down, making them look rather p*ssed or angry. I first thought it might be intended, but it's not the same in the game, so it must ba a display error that might have the same source as the ugly 1.10 Warlock pet bars - the weather graphics?

Both are definitely QA issues, and I suspect they have almost their whole QA team on the "Burning Crusade" now which - unlike free (content) patches - brings money.

[MongoJerry]

Both are definitely QA issues, and I suspect they have almost their whole QA team on the "Burning Crusade" now which - unlike free (content) patches - brings money.

That's not fully true, since patches keep people playing and therefore keep paying their $12-15/month.

[nobbie]

That's not fully true, since patches keep people playing and therefore keep paying their $12-15/month.
[right][snapback]106592[/snapback][/right]

I think you know what I meant ;)

[MongoJerry]

I think you know what I meant ;)

I do, but I'm also saying that I think Blizzard knows they need to keep the current playerbase happy so that they'll rush out to get the expansion when it comes out. I think they're embarassed about the latest fiascos with both the server crashes and the bugs that the patch introduced. They're making a big deal about their migrations to newer hardware and so far they've been good about squashing the big bugs that have cropped up. I can't believe that so many big bugs got through the patch vetting process. But then again, the QA guys were probably focused on the new content and didn't think that the old content would change. Evidently, the beta testers thought that way, too.

[oldmandennis]

Blizzard's patch schedule is remarkably tame compared to other MMO's.

Granted, there are still major, major issues that should have been caught on test.
[right][snapback]106563[/snapback][/right]

I'll plead inexperiance - this is the first MMORPG I've spent any real time with. But I've heard a LOT of people say others are at least as bad if not worse.

And as far as the pace of the patches... EQ2 has apparently introduced sooooo much new content it streached their player base out too thin to play it all, and they had to consolidate servers to get enought people in one place to do the quests.

And that's _their_ spin on it... it just might be that their sucky game is having a hard time keeping enough people around to play the game.

[Rinnhart]

I'll plead inexperiance - this is the first MMORPG I've spent any real time with.  But I've heard a LOT of people say others are at least as bad if not worse.

And as far as the pace of the patches... EQ2 has apparently introduced sooooo much new content it streached their player base out too thin to play it all, and they had to consolidate servers to get enought people in one place to do the quests.

And that's _their_ spin on it... it just might be that their sucky game is having a hard time keeping enough people around to play the game.
[right][snapback]106598[/snapback][/right]

By tame I refer to their "one patch every couple months" routine.

I wouldn't call bull#$%& on the EQ2 bit without playing it, personally. EQ2 has a fairly stable player base, but Sony Online Entertainment as a whole is failing.

EQ 1 was/is an absolutely huge game world and the rate at which content was produced was staggering. Every six months, a dozen new zones, new small group dungeons, new raid content, new forms of character advancement, and new itemization - including new spells. At the game's peak in terms of popularity, and this was content being designed for enormous volumes of people and huge raid forces without the benefit of instancing (until very late in the game's life). And that's just expansion content, tons of features and tweaks were done à la carte.

As for the quality- all MMO's have patching problems. It's part of the game. :shuriken:

[oldmandennis]

I wouldn't call bull#$%& on the EQ2 bit without playing it, personally. EQ2 has a fairly stable player base, but Sony Online Entertainment as a whole is failing.

As for the quality- all MMO's have patching problems. It's part of the game.  :shuriken:
[right][snapback]106604[/snapback][/right]

Amazingly, we have kept this civil so far :D

Anyhoo... It is a fact that SOMETHING has caused EQ2 to contract servers. It is probably NOT that they are putting out such a fantastic product that overwhelming demand is forcing them to squish more people togeather.

And I did try EQ2 for a bit. I found the graphics sterile and soulless. The backstory is simplistic and lame. And recently they made a shift (right before I started playing) which put 16 classes to choose from right from the opening screen. The problem is that those classes were origially designed to be branched out from 4 arch types in 2 steps (4x2x2 = 16). Earth to SOE - I am level 1. I have no idea what the difference between a conjurer and an illusionest is.

But as obviously as SOE games are flailing about (Starwars is worse off then EQ2 by a large margin), my impression is that they are still making money. Not WoW money, but still profitable from the last report I heard.

And considering the amount of money WOW is taking in, their stability problems are becoming less and less excusable. Think of it this way - They are taking in 1/2 the cost of my cell phone or so per month. My cell phone rarely has an inablily to connect to the server (dropped call, etc). Certainly not for significant peak hours for large parts of the month. Having actually worked in that sort of industry for a while, I know EXACTLY how to fix this. Tie sizeable bonuses (~1/3 annual salary) for the networking staff to get 99.9% uptime for everything that could possibly be considered under thier control (ISP's, Authentication servers, Forums, etc.) See how hard they can lean on what ever degenerates are supplying their internet connection when it is their Christmas on the line. Give them an almost blank check to do what they need - new hardware, new/redundant ISPs, you'd be astounded what people will accomplish if there is a few thousand cash money on the line. Trust me, I have seen this work, its not just an idea that sounds good on paper.

[Artega]

On The Core guild message boards, someone said he'd be mad if Blizzard didn't add a Blood Lust ability, and Zylonis, one of our shamans, said:
After staring at that statement for a few minutes, I'd bet good money that he's right.  After all, it is the enhancement tree that needs the most work, so it wouldn't surpise me to see some unbelievable talent like that added to the end of the tree.

Blood Lust executes.  Yum!
[right][snapback]106543[/snapback][/right]

PI = Power Infusion?

I'd rather Bloodlust be like the original version found in War2 and War3: a short-duration buff to attack and movement speed that makes you big and angry.

You could balance it out by having a short debuff duration afterwards (you figure going crazy like that would leave you a bit drained.)

[JustAGuy]

PI = Power Infusion?

I'd rather Bloodlust be like the original version found in War2 and War3: a short-duration buff to attack and movement speed that makes you big and angry.

You could balance it out by having a short debuff duration afterwards (you figure going crazy like that would leave you a bit drained.)
[right][snapback]106619[/snapback][/right]

Arguably, the closest thing to Bloodlust is the Orc Racial ability, "Blood Fury". Increases attack power by 25% of the base (sucks) for 15 seconds and then applies a -50% to healing received debuff for 25 seconds, basically makes it a damage-less mortal strike on yourself. That racial ability isn't on my orc shaman's bar now, and it only serves as something NPCs can use against me when mind controlled, for example during Jin'do's fight (It always activates, meaning I'll be dead shorty after the MC). Probably closer in implementation is the Troll racial, "Berserking", which increases casting and attack speed with no harmful after affects (hax!).


Did Shamans have Bloodlust in War 3? I never played that game long enough to know that info. In War 2, it was the Ogre Magi, and seeing as there is no equivalent player character type for that, it would be inappropriate for Shamans to get it. Single Bloodlusting a bunch of orgres in War 2 was always a pain ;). Fun to let them run wild and free though, when bloodlusted.

EDIT: Added Blood Fury stats.

[JustAGuy]

According to Eyonix, shaman will get their talent review in 1.11 in addition to mages:
So, that's two class talent reviews plus the addition of a huge major dungeon in one patch?  I don't think we'll be seeing this thing until the end of June.
[right][snapback]106532[/snapback][/right]

They'll probably get this patch out sooner. Shaman class review is really less work than the other classes.

Changes in the Shaman tree boil down to only a few things, hence why they can do mages in the same patch. Shamans need the following:

Restoration Tree:

- Remove improved Healing Totem. That talent is a complete and utter waste.
- Move Mana Tide from a 31 point talent. It's nice, but not a 31 point talent, especially with those awful prerequisites.

Enhancement Tree:

- Lots to change. This is the tree that requires a major overhaul.
- 2-h Weapons and Parry should be learned at the trainer, not a talent
- Stormstrike should be buffed, if it is to remain a 31 point talent. Currently, not worth 31 points. Similar to Warrior's 31 point Fury talent (lame-o!)
- Perhaps add more defensive talents?

Elemental:

- Probably the most balanced of the trees, as far as point investment to return goes. I wouldn't change anything, really.

[oldmandennis]

Did Shamans have Bloodlust in War 3? I never played that game long enough to know that info. In War 2, it was the Ogre Magi, and seeing as there is no equivalent player character type for that, it would be inappropriate for Shamans to get it. Single Bloodlusting a bunch of orgres in War 2 was always a pain ;). Fun to let them run wild and free though, when bloodlusted.
[right][snapback]107106[/snapback][/right]

Ah you missed out, WC3 was an awesome game. Shaman do indead have bloodlust, and if you right clicked the spell, they would all autocast it on friendly units that engage in combat. I think it is relativly less powerful then the WC2 one though. I'm not sure if you have noticed, but a lot of Ogre-magi in WoW have bloodlust too. For some reason, bloodlusted sheep crack me up. They just wander around with glowy red hoofs.

[MongoJerry]

They'll probably get this patch out sooner.  Shaman class review is really less work than the other classes.

Changes in the Shaman tree boil down to only a few things, hence why they can do mages in the same patch. Shamans need the following:

That's basically half the trees, which is a lot. It's the same as the amount that needed to be done to the priest trees. Like the priest Holy tree did, the Enhancement shaman tree needs a full revamp. Like the priest Discipline tree, the shaman restoration tree needs a half revamp. Like the priest shadow tree, the elemental tree needs only small changes if any. Also, there are a lot of issues with totems and the totem system that need to be looked at. Yeah, it'll need to be a full rework like the priest, druid, and hunter reviews were.