Tommorow's Patch: Great Summary

[Arcdelad]

This is an awesome summary of all the stuff coming in tommorow's patch:

http://www.mmo-champion.com/#post_aprice

[Shadowwolf]

We all know whats really going to happen =)

[attachimg=1]

[Arcdelad]

LOL

[Darkstar]

All i can say is WOW for those plate pieces requiring badges..

[Arcdelad]

yeah...same for the leather...the new badge items are just awesome....

...shadow uses a commodore 64 to play wow? I thought melonni was the only person using a super crappy computer

[Threlin]

...shadow uses a commodore 64 to play wow? I thought melonni was the only person using a super crappy computer

Thou shalt not cast dispersions upon the Commode Door 64! I can still remember the thrill of playing stat/text based football games on mine!

5.25 floppy drive: *spin, spin, spin* *spin, spin, spin* *spin, spin, spin*
Monitor (actually a TV screen): The Quarterback is being chased! *spin, spin, spin*
*spin, spin, spin* The Quarterback is being chased! *spin, spin, spin* 

[Lynette]

I wish I had a Commodore 64 - still playing on the Vic 20 here.

[Buzan]

Is this patch confirmed 100% to go live tommorow...?

[Shadowwolf]

[blizzard author=Drysc link=http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=2766101883&sid=1]

While testing continues and a delay could possibly change these dates, we are currently planning to start Season 3 on November 20 once the realms come back up from their weekly maintenance. This means that Season 2 will come to a close when the realms come down for maintenance on November 20. During that maintenance the final standings are taken and the end of season rewards are distributed.

The start date for Season 3 is purposefully planned to be one week later than the release of patch 2.3, which is currently scheduled for November 13. We will be closely monitoring the testing of the 2.3 patch, and if it looks like it won’t make the November 13 date, we will announce a delay.

With the end of the current season all previous recipients of the end of season titles will have them removed, and the titles will be redistributed for participation in Season 2. A unique armored swift nether drake, visually distinguishable from the Season 1 reward, will be awarded to the top 0.5% of teams. We’ve recently added new requirements for a team to be counted when determining the top 0.5%, which can be found here: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=2649798359&sid=1

FAQ
(Updated questions in bold)

Q: Can I keep my title from Season 1 even if I haven’t participated in Season 2?
A: No, the seasonal titles are intended to be a reward for performance in the previous season. Similar to a sports title or award, it’s handed off or moved to different players/teams as their performance rises or declines throughout the seasons.

Q: What happens to my Nether Drake?
A: You will keep your Swift Nether Drake, and a new visually distinguishable Swift Nether Drake will be given to the top 0.5% of teams for their efforts in Season 2.

Q: Any other new rewards?
A: As a matter of fact there is! The #1 team of each size, in every battlegroup, will receive a special "Merciless Gladiator" title. All other top 0.5% teams will receive the Gladiator title.

Q: So I’ve heard something about items having rating requirements?
A: Yes, the Season 3 weapons will have a personal rating requirement of 1850, and the shoulders will have a personal rating requirement of 2000.

Q: What is a “Personal Rating”?
A: The personal rating system is a new rating introduced with Season 3 your character will have for each team it’s on. This is in addition to the team’s rating which will still determine how many points you get per week. The personal rating is used for determining your eligibility to purchase certain items (weapons/shoulder) and for the end of season rewards. The personal rating uses the same formula as the arena team rating, but only for games that your character actually participates in. If you switch teams, the personal rating for that team size is reset to the default 1500. As an example, you join a team with a personal rating of 1500 and the team you join has a team rating of 1200. You play in 10 matches and win all of them; your personal rating may only increase slightly as your personal rating (1500) as compared to the teams you’re being matched against (~1200) is large. Meanwhile the team rating would increase as it normally would. In an opposite example, with a personal rating of 1500, and a team rating of 2000, your personal rating would increase substantially when matched (and winning) against other teams of a similar 2000 team rating. The personal rating requirement for the items only needs to be met by your personal rating from one of your teams, and it isn't required that you maintain a rating to continue using them.

Q: Why do the weapons and shoulders require a personal rating?
A: We found that many high end PvE players felt extremely compelled to obtain the weapons, as given enough time, and without a rating requirement, they’re guaranteed. There’s of course no guarantee that you can obtain the same weapons in PvE for use in PvP, and that discrepancy is the main reason for the change. With the personal rating system we can ensure that there is a milestone or achievement that one has to reach and that they can’t be obtained purely through a slow but steady acquisition of arena points. For the shoulders, they are in our opinion, the most visually impacting item and we wanted something visual that can distinguish those who are performing well in the arenas. They’re also not substantial stat-wise, and for those without the shoulders the set bonuses can still be achieved.

Q: Will I be able to track my personal ratings through the armory?
A: We hope to have this feature available for the release of 2.3, but they can always be tracked in-game.

Q: What happens to the Season 1 and 2 items?
A: The Season 2 items will be priced the same as Season 1 is now, and the Season 1 items are moving to the honor system, purchasable with honor points and Battleground marks.

Q: Will Season 1 honor (Vindicator) and Season 3 arena (Vengeful Gladiator) items be purchasable with the release of 2.3, or only when Season 3 actually starts?
A: Only when season 3 actually starts. The Badge of Justice PvP items (trinket/back) will be available for purchase as soon as the patch goes live however.

Q: What happens to my rating when Season 2 ends?
A: Ratings for all teams are reset to the default 1500 for the new season. You still keep your arena points though, they aren’t diminished or removed.

Q: When does Season 2 officially end?
A: Barring a delay, when the realms come down for maintenance on November 20.

Q: How sure are you that 2.3 will make a November 13 release?
A: Pretty sure, but there’s always the possibility for a delay. Due to the upcoming holidays any necessary delays to the release of the patch may require us to delay Season 3 into the start of December. We’re trying very hard to avoid that.

Q: Why isn’t Season 3 beginning with the release of the patch?
A: To help us focus on both a major content patch release, and start of a new season, we’re separating them by one week.

Q: With the class balance changes going in with 2.3 won’t this change a lot of our strategies as we push for the final week?
A: Yes, it could. If you get your rating high enough before 2.3 though you don’t necessarily have to play, and can just sit at your rating.

Q: If a team isn’t counted due to the new qualification terms (http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=2649798359&sid=1) do they still take up a spot for the season rewards?
A: No, if a team doesn’t meet the qualifications to be counted they will not be eligible to receive the end of season rewards. If there are 10 top teams that would receive the (0.5%) end of season rewards and two of those teams aren’t qualified to be counted, the 11th and 12th teams will receive the rewards. They’re effectively ignored.

[/blizzard]

[Threlin]

I wish I had a Commodore 64 - still playing on the Vic 20 here.

Maybe we can find you a Trash 80, Lyn!

Thanks for the info, Arc and Shadow! For some reason this patch does not want to download using the downloader for me, so I'll end up grabbing it from here or the WoW site once it goes live. Gotta love the increase in experience in lvl 1 to 60 content if you're a casual player. Not to mention tons of content!

[LastDyingBreath]

It really pissed me off that the required ratings were put on shoulders and weapons "because PvE'rs were getting them".  Not "because you can lose 10 pvp matches a week and get black temple level gear for sucking", but because they don't want PvE DPS to have 100 dps one handers without downing illidan.

Pve:  level to 70.  Get entry level raid gear from 5 mans and heroics.  Learn Kara and raid through it.  Learn Gruul/Mag and down them repeatedly.  Learn SSC and get through it.  Learn TK and get through it.  Get to black temple, hardest instance in the game.  SPend months of wipefest raids learning and clearing encounters.  Finally get to Illidan, kill the hardest boss in WoW, and have a CHANCE at ONE weapon dropping, GL with the need roll or hope you have the highest DKP or you're SOL.

PvP:  level to 70.  dance naked in arena battles for two hours a week.  purchase epics.


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[Luise]

PvP:  level to 70.  dance naked in arena battles for two hours a week.  purchase epics.

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I'll have to try that and see if it improves our rating 

[capnpop]

PvP:  level to 70.  dance naked in arena battles for two hours a week.  purchase epics.


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Don't forget "Wipefest til you understand the event and still go back to other instances to gear up tanks due to lack of +def on all pvp items"

On an unrelated note: Gren, we're getting the group back together... 2100 rating or bust