2.3 PTR patch notes

[Ruvanal]

Also, did anyone else catch the change to Starshards yet? If it stands how it is, Night Elves are a HOT choice (pun intended) for raiding shadow priests. A zero-mana extra DoT that does significant damage because it should get the full coefficient of +dmg...

Yes I noted it. There may even be another reason that some are not aware of for the change. But first I would like to point out that the testing and theory crafting for Starshards currently has it getting ~171% of +damage effects.

The other reason for the change is something that I had observed with my NElf priestest Myrrian about a month or so ago. While I could not consistently repeat the effect, there were several times that I had managed to chain cast Starshards so that the later casting continued the damage increase effect where the earlier cast had stopped at. If some other players had learned how to do this consistenly, then it would have far outstripped pretty much any other DPS casting options for priests or even other casters.

This is an example damage sequence I had recorded with her at the time. Rank 7 Starshards, +dmg=293 (iirc) 2 chained casts that 'stacked'.
201
202
259
316 <- this would have been the last tick of a normal cast.
316
347
347
435

If this type of scaling could be continued (i.e. exploited), then the damage amounts could get very unbalanced.

[Tal]

I have Cleoboltra on the PvP PTR (renamed as Bolty). Here's the cloak on her in the dressing room:
-Bolty

Thanks B:)

[Mirajj]

Disarming shot sounds rather interesting, though at it's current mana cost, it'll be a tradeoff use, for sure.

However, the change I heard some speaking about was that they are FINALLY closing the deadzone for hunters, bringing the minimum range of their ranged weapons to match up with the max range of their melee ones

WHOO HOO!

[Watto44]

I really like the disarm changes personally, but I think the durations are going to have to be worked on. For a rogue, five seconds without being able to do anything is going to be a killer. 2.5 - 3 with a weapon chain/talent/gloves sounds more in the ball park: hurts hard, but doesn't break your heart.

(I'd also like to see an altered version of riposte as a trainable ability. 25 energy, does weapon damage and disarms the target for 6 seconds. Imp. Riposte talent in the combat tree increases the weapon damage to its current level and drops the energy cost a little.)

[Bolty]

Disarming shot sounds rather interesting, though at it's current mana cost, it'll be a tradeoff use, for sure.

Currently on the PTR, Arcane Shot dispels a Paladin's Divine Shield.

-Bolty

[Kevin]

Currently on the PTR, Arcane Shot dispels a Paladin's Divine Shield.

-Bolty

So that with no deadzone and a disarming shot. Hunters should be the most powerful thing in PvP ever now. I was already figuring out arenas with them (though I still had some major frustrations) and they already ruled battlegrounds if the person behind the keys had any skill. You give them these changes and it's gonna be too much. I'll have fun with them, but no deadzone, as frustrated as I could get by it at times because I'm not all that good at kiting, is too much. I figure the arcane shot dispelling the bubble is probably a bug, but I'll be even more over powered for a while till they fix it, sure.

[Mirajj]

Currently on the PTR, Arcane Shot dispels a Paladin's Divine Shield.

-Bolty

Yeah, there's some serious tuning needed to that skill, from what I hear. They can take it away completely if they wanted, I doubt any hunters would really mind anyhow. We never wanted a dispelling shot.

[Mirajj]

So that with no deadzone and a disarming shot. Hunters should be the most powerful thing in PvP ever now. I was already figuring out arenas with them (though I still had some major frustrations) and they already ruled battlegrounds if the person behind the keys had any skill. You give them these changes and it's gonna be too much. I'll have fun with them, but no deadzone, as frustrated as I could get by it at times because I'm not all that good at kiting, is too much. I figure the arcane shot dispelling the bubble is probably a bug, but I'll be even more over powered for a while till they fix it, sure.

As ever, I couldn't give 2 figs about PvP. But this is nice for PvE. I get very tired of just about every NPC caster who has a root and a ranged attack constantly being in my deadzone. This happens tons while solo'ing, and it's very frusterating.

The Disarm shot doesn't overexcite me either, but then, I'm not big into PvP, and I doubt that I'll be able to disarm any PvE mob that matters.;)

[Kevin]

As ever, I couldn't give 2 figs about PvP. But this is nice for PvE. I get very tired of just about every NPC caster who has a root and a ranged attack constantly being in my deadzone. This happens tons while solo'ing, and it's very frusterating.

The Disarm shot doesn't overexcite me either, but then, I'm not big into PvP, and I doubt that I'll be able to disarm any PvE mob that matters.;)

Well I'm going to be an ass in my response. The deadzone change has nothing to do with PvE. If a hunter has deadzone issues all the time in PvE they should play a different class. Sure it's annoying, but you can't have everything. Warriors and rogues get rooted and can't do anything. Mages have to deal with mobs they can't slow.

This is a PvP change. The only help hunters need in PvE is that marks needs help for raid DPS. Hunters don't need soloing help.

[Mirajj]

Edit:NVM, not worth it.

[Artega]

Disarming Shot. :(

So now as a Mutilate Rogue you should absolutely fear Warriors and Combat Rogues, and watch Hunters prevent you from actually finishing off any target.

Absurd. They give Hunters a dispel and now they're giving them Disarm too?

And as for fearing Disarm users... just put a damn weapon chain on the offhand like all the other PvP rogues do right now. Sheesh.

[Quark]

Yeah, there's some serious tuning needed to that skill, from what I hear. They can take it away completely if they wanted, I doubt any hunters would really mind anyhow. We never wanted a dispelling shot.

"Give us pvp utility!"

"Okay, here, dispel anything."

"We don't want it!"

[Mirajj]

"Give us pvp utility!"

"Okay, here, dispel anything."

"We don't want it!"

I don't recall seeing posts for PvP utility. The PvP things I've seen have all been based around how easily LoS'ed hunters are, and the fact that there was very little that could be done about/to prevent it.

[Taelas]

And as for fearing Disarm users... just put a damn weapon chain on the offhand like all the other PvP rogues do right now. Sheesh.

Sure. It'll cut the Disarm duration in half. What a great investment!

[Mirajj]

I'm wondering where all the +hit and +crit is on hunter gear. I'm seeing a lot of "ignores X of armor" but haven't seen anything that'd add up to even -1000 armor on anything, and given the amount of armor folks are packing around these days, I have to wonder what's going on here.

Even the Zul'jin bow has that Ignore Armor stat on it.

[Artega]

Sure. It'll cut the Disarm duration in half. What a great investment!

You're disarmed for five seconds instead of ten, and Disarm effects are now on a standard twenty second half-quarter-immune diminishing returns timer.

I'd say that, yeah, it's a pretty good investment. A second Mongoose enchant isn't going to help you when you aren't wielding a weapon.

[Icebird]

I copied my priest over to the PvP PTR under the name "Tide", although given I'm playing on NZ hours I'm not sure whether I'll see Bolty or any of the other Lurkers there.

I did have a chance to test out the "spell damage added to healing gear" change, and for a PVE specced Holy Priest with a mediocre DPS set, it's undiluted awesome. In my full healing gear, I was killing demons at Legion Hold with my Power Word : Shield still up, and I could regen most of the mana walking over to the next mob. Sure I'm killing slower than a pure DPS class, but about twice as fast before with my live server gear, and with exponentially less downtime.

Looking for more of a challenge, I even successfully soloed Forestsworn Talon-Rager in Skettis. Had to use an Inner Focus but no potions or other cooldown abilities.

Chris

[Bolty]

Some more info on Chastise, stolen from the EJ boards. I got to play with it some yesterday:

* The spell damage coefficient is 14.217% for all ranks (no downrank penalty) based on testing.
* Rank 1 is the same duration (2sec) and costs 50 mana, versus 300 mana for max rank
* 20 yard range
* 30 second cooldown
* 0.5 second cast time
* Not castable in shadow form
* Locks out holy school if interrupted
* Works only on humanoids (so much for helping your partner catch druids)
* Immunities are the same as gouge (its an incapacitate), i.e. berserker rage breaks it.

Bottom line, theres no reason to ever cast anything but rank 1. Casting max rank means you're paying 250 mana for 300-350 damage. Also, Warriors remain the class that can absolutely destroy a Priest and there's nothing the Priest can do to stop them, due to fear immunity and berserker rage's chastise immunity. Bleh.

However, Dwarf Priests went from being the best Alliance PvP Priest race by a mile to being the best Alliance PvP Priest race by two miles. Good job, Blizzard!

-Bolty

[Lissa]

However, Dwarf Priests went from being the best Alliance PvP Priest race by a mile to being the best Alliance PvP Priest race by two miles. Good job, Blizzard!

-Bolty

For Healing, but for Shadow, it's NEs now with an additional DoT in Star Shards and increasing miss chance on melee and ranged attacks with Elune's Grace. I feel sorry for all those Human Priests now... :whistling:

[Bolty]

In patch 2.3, Blizzard presents us with incontrovertial proof that cake > pie. It makes one Very Happy!

-Bolty