Client Patch 1.4.1

[Treesh]

Patch notes:

World of Warcraft Client Patch 1.4.1 (2005-04-28)

• Added minimum level requirements to all instances to prevent exploitive behavior. The minimum levels are very generous and should not affect the normal course of gameplay.
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• Fixed a number of disconnect problems.
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• Fixed a bug where periods would appear as commas.
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• Fixed a font issue that could cause distortion of game text.<>
  [st]

"Fixed a number of disconnect problems." Specific as always Blizzard. ;)

And since this is just a small client patch, no Blizzard Downloader to deal with!

[Quark]

Patch notes:

"Fixed a number of disconnect problems."&nbsp; Specific as always Blizzard. ;)

And since this is just a small client patch, no Blizzard Downloader to deal with!
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I'd really like Blizzard to keep this up. Small, incremental, patches that only touch a few bugs with high upside. Of course, having a high upside means the bug either needs to be real bad, or the fix has to have no consequences whatsoever :P

[Treesh]

or the fix has to have no consequences whatsoever :P
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Like the alchemy display bug? Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease let this small patch fix that

[Ravage]

Added minimum level requirements to all instances to prevent exploitive behavior.
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Ok, so, several frends and I have been discussing, trying to determine how one possibly could exploite using a low level character in an instance. And we are failing miserably. Anything a group can do in an instance, can be done outside of an instance. All the drops are level restricted, even the BOP ones; all the quests require a minimum level to aquire already; exp and coins are shared the same inside the instance and outside. I just dont get it. Don't misunderstand me, I dont see a point in bringing a lowbie into an instance, or grouping with a lowbie except to help them get their stuff done.

It would almost make more sense to put a max level restriction, so that, for example, level 30+ cant walk newbies through Ragefire Cavern or Deadmines "bypassing content" by killing all the mobs the lowbie needs for the quests.

Am I missing something here?

[Quark]

Ok, so, several frends and I have been discussing, trying to determine how one possibly could exploite using a low level character in an instance.&nbsp; And we are failing miserably.&nbsp; Anything a group can do in an instance, can be done outside of an instance.&nbsp; All the drops are level restricted, even the BOP ones; all the quests require a minimum level to aquire already; exp and coins are shared the same inside the instance and outside.&nbsp; I just dont get it.&nbsp; Don't misunderstand me, I dont see a point in bringing a lowbie into an instance, or grouping with a lowbie except to help them get their stuff done.&nbsp;

Don't know myself, but people are creative. It wouldn't suprised me of some people found a loophole.

It would almost make more sense to put a max level restriction, so that, for example, level 30+ cant walk newbies through Ragefire Cavern or Deadmines "bypassing content" by killing all the mobs the lowbie needs for the quests.

That's not bypassing, it's trivializing. Bypassing is skipping it altogether. And I don't agree there should be a max. If I want to run a dungeon solo with Ramala, I should at least be able to try it.

Edit: And Treesh, I certainly hope the fix that too. If it wasn't for computer problems driving me crazy, that would have been driving me crazy instead. Of course, the Alchemy Bug is definately a server-specific thing (why do they have different versions on different servers?), so maybe just a resync will get that.

[Mavfin]

Ok, so, several frends and I have been discussing, trying to determine how one possibly could exploite using a low level character in an instance.&nbsp; And we are failing miserably.&nbsp; Anything a group can do in an instance, can be done outside of an instance.&nbsp; All the drops are level restricted, even the BOP ones; all the quests require a minimum level to aquire already; exp and coins are shared the same inside the instance and outside.&nbsp; I just dont get it.&nbsp; Don't misunderstand me, I dont see a point in bringing a lowbie into an instance, or grouping with a lowbie except to help them get their stuff done.&nbsp;

It would almost make more sense to put a max level restriction, so that, for example, level 30+ cant walk newbies through Ragefire Cavern or Deadmines "bypassing content" by killing all the mobs the lowbie needs for the quests.

Am I missing something here?
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I don't think the quest rewards for instances are level limited. I think the Chausses of Westfall, for example, have no level req on them. The only limit is the level you can get the quest at, which is probably lower than can really contribute in the instance.

The patch talked about below won't affect this, but I, for one, am sick of seeing lvl 30 warriors wearing the Whirlwind weapons. I mean, come on. To get the stuff to summon Cyclonian, you need to kill a whole bunch of 33/34 trolls, a whole bunch of 38/39 air/fire/water elementals, get some liferoot (no big deal on that one), and then kill a 40 elite air elemental. A lvl 30 can do all that? Doh. A lvl 30 can't even *contribute* to the group that got him all this stuff, as he couldn't even *hit* Cyclonian, let alone damage him. To me, that's an exploit.

To move to a slightly diff subject, when asked to help lower guildies (or random lowbies) with a quest, I usually apply what I call the '+3 rule'. I usually won't help a lower level do a quest more than 3 levels over them. If a lvl 34 asks me to help them kill Fozruk (a lvl 42 elite giant), I will usually decline. They're just leeching from me for that quest, as they can barely HIT him, let alone hurt him. Oh, I don't stick to '+3' exactly, and allow some leeway for normal group stuff, but, I draw the line at oh, about +5 max. Anything more than that, they're just wanting me to do it for them so they can have <insert reward here> w/o actually contributing to it. Our guild 60s do about the same. We have had people leave the guild over it, after we wouldn't do quests +7 and higher for them. The leadership of the guild got together and agreed that allowing people to leech like that was a bad precedent to start.

Comments, anyone?

[Treesh]

Of course, the Alchemy Bug is definately a server-specific thing (why do they have different versions on different servers?), so maybe just a resync will get that.
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I was hoping it would get fixed last week during maintenance but it didn't. So here's hoping again!


But, unfortunately, the pessimist in me doesn't think they'll get around to actually fixing this until Battlegrounds gets implemented. /sigh

[savaughn]

Like the alchemy display bug?&nbsp; Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease let this small patch fix that
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I am SO right there with you, Treesh. The two chars I'm working on getting to 40 right now are both alchs on a bad server. :angry:

Kind of strange, but one of the servers that was broken a couple of weeks ago got fixed in last week's patch but the one I'm spending most of my time on right now is still broke. :o

[Quark]

Comments, anyone?
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Works in general for me, though I don't stick to it devoutly. I don't go out of the way to help people like that, but occassionally I will. One thing to note: your level restriction should probably be bigger at 60 than it is at, say, 20. I still have a level 48 quest in my log :blink:, and would mind helping, say, 53s for it.

[savaughn]

Ok, so, several frends and I have been discussing, trying to determine how one possibly could exploite using a low level character in an instance.  And we are failing miserably.  Anything a group can do in an instance, can be done outside of an instance.  All the drops are level restricted, even the BOP ones; all the quests require a minimum level to aquire already; exp and coins are shared the same inside the instance and outside.  I just dont get it.  Don't misunderstand me, I dont see a point in bringing a lowbie into an instance, or grouping with a lowbie except to help them get their stuff done. 

It would almost make more sense to put a max level restriction, so that, for example, level 30+ cant walk newbies through Ragefire Cavern or Deadmines "bypassing content" by killing all the mobs the lowbie needs for the quests.

Am I missing something here?
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I'd say "boss xp". The giant lvl 33 pig in RFK gives 1.8k xp to my level 33ish rogue where a normal level 33 gives a couple hundred tops. Exactly how you exploit this tactically, I could only speculate on. I'd imagine some combination of dotting and having a level 60 basically kill the thing and then drop out of the party could be effective to the point of getting to level 20 in a couple of hours.

<edit: I mention the pig only because that's the only boss I remembered exactly how much XP he gave off the top of my head. I'd expect there's a lot better boss xp drops out there.>

[Mavfin]

Works in general for me, though I don't stick to it devoutly.&nbsp; I don't go out of the way to help people like that, but occassionally I will.&nbsp; One thing to note: your level restriction should probably be bigger at 60 than it is at, say, 20.&nbsp; I still have a level 48 quest in my log&nbsp; :blink:, and would mind helping, say, 53s for it.
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Yeah, I give some leeway on it, depending on the situation. If it feels like leeching, I generally won't do it, but if there's mitigating circumstances, sure. Our lvl 60s help out a lot here and there, and try to be commonsense about it. We just try to avoid clear 'doing it for them' situations.

[KiloVictor]

Ok, so, several frends and I have been discussing, trying to determine how one possibly could exploite using a low level character in an instance.
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Just an idea off the top of my head: what about farming enchanting materials?

Any character of level 5 or greater can learn the profession, which includes the disenchant skill. Since the quality of the disenchanted materials is only dependent on the level of the items, even a level 5 could get large brilliant shards from high-level blues.

So take a few 60s, tag a level 5 alt on /follow, and clear out an instance like Maraudon. Use master looter to assign all the loot to the enchanting mule, then DE for shards and other valuable materials. It gets you around the BoP problem which Blizz designed to prevent or limit instance farming.

The benefit would be that you can farm these materials without having to give up another profession (like, say, engineering, which a lot of people seem to want for PvP). You can always find an enchanter that'll do the enchant for little or no money if you provide materials, so you get most of the benefits of enchanting without actually having the profession.

Dunno if people are doing this, but it seems plausible. Farming for enchanting materials seems to be the source of a lot of "instance abuse" -- remember rogues stealthing to SM bosses?

Kv

[Quark]

Farming for enchanting materials seems to be the source of a lot of "instance abuse" -- remember rogues stealthing to SM bosses?

Kv
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They still do that. The bigger problem was farming SM bosses and getting blues that sold for alot. The items now sell for little, but can still be farmed for shards. It's still not too hard to get them, either.

[Mavfin]

They still do that.&nbsp; The bigger problem was farming SM bosses and getting blues that sold for alot.&nbsp; The items now sell for little, but can still be farmed for shards.&nbsp; It's still not too hard to get them, either.
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Any decent group can blast up through the fountains to get the stuff in Cathedral in not too long a time. It's just the way the place is. It's also fun. Library doesn't take long either. SM is just a blast. Good fighting, good loot. Of course it gets farmed.

[kandrathe]

Like the alchemy display bug?&nbsp; Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease let this small patch fix that
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It is fixed on Celethirian. Hoorey!

[Artega]

Predictably, I disagree with you Mav.

We're paying $15 USD a month to play a game, and if having that uber weapon or uber armor the very second you have a shot at it is fun to you, then who am I to judge? I'll help them if I'm in the mood. I have no problems doing the Whirlwind (Weapon) quest for my guildies, because I remember how much of a difference that weapon made for me. I was unable to get it until Lv.41, eleven levels AFTER I acquired the quest, and by which point the quest was green, because the absurd difficulty in soloing those damnable elementals for charms that didn't drop very often. By Lv.41, the Whirlwind Warhammer was merely okay for my level (and it was soon replaced), but at Lv.30, it's a downright godsend.

Maybe your guildies find slowly grinding enjoyable, but I don't, and that's why I help guildies whenever possible :)

[Pesmerga]

It is fixed on Celethirian.&nbsp; Hoorey!
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Yet, on Stormrage, the tailoring is all Orange. At least, it is for my char. x.x

[Mirajj]

Comments, anyone?
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I'm with you for the most part. The only place where I make a personal exception is Instances. I've had a couple wipe on me because 1 or 2 level appropriate people left on me. Nothing sucks more hardcore than getting to VC's boat, and half your party decided to leave.

In a case like that, I'd be more than glad to help someone out, so that the hours of their time aren't 'wasted'. I won't go clearing for them, but I'll be on hand to make sure that they don't get overwhelmed because of the team loss.

It could be looked at as a little cheesy, I admit, but one of my 'buttons' is 'losing' an intance because someone had to leave. I understand that there are a huge multitude of reasons to leave, all of them legit (I've had to leave midInstance myself...real life is more important, no matter what, than a game) but that doesn't mean that it sucks, and if possible, I will help mitigate that.

[Gurnsey]

Like the alchemy display bug?&nbsp; Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease let this small patch fix that
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Dare I ask:

What is the alchemy display bug?

[Treesh]

Yet, on Stormrage, the tailoring is all Orange.&nbsp; At least, it is for my char. x.x
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*bangs head against the desk*

My tailors on Stormrage, Terenas, and Tichondrius (I don't have tailors on my other servers) all have the display bug. At least I'm assuming it's like the alchemists before and it's just a display bug. I didn't bother to sew anything as I was checking. /sigh

Edit: Another page in the book "Blizzard doesn't actually want people to craft in the game" - apparently solid dynamite had a nice little stealth change to it. Instead of one solid blasting powder and one silk cloth, it's now 2 solid blasting powder and 3 runecloth. Runecloth. Caydiem says:

The change was not intended. It has been fixed internally and should go live with the next patch.

You should only need one Solid Blasting Powder and one Silk Cloth when it is fixed.

Our apologies for this mixup. :/

and

. . . the developer was changing something surrounding certain schematics and unfortunately made an error. :/ It will be fixed.

Edit2: Fixed some urls.