This is just awful. Why?

I'm going to reply to this thread if only to head off some other possible concerns players may be having with the new 3.1.0 PTR up.

We are very early in testing for the new patch and there are many changes that can and will happen over the testing period. The current notes are by no means meant to be considered all inclusive of what is yet in store for the patch and we have many more changes to come.

We wanted to get this patch out and start getting it tested as soon as possible. Much like the beta process, consider this a progressive test patch. We will be adding more in to the patch as we progress. So if a section seems a bit on the lean side, it most likely has more that needs to be added in.

As always, we appreciate constructive feedback on the changes being made and would like to encourage everyone to take time to test out the new patch.

Q u o t e:
Let me get this straight, if there were more changes for the warrior, wouldn't you want it tested on the PTR? The blue post reads like the warrior development team has been too preoccupied shooting zombies on the console, but they are going to pull all nighters to make up for it very shortly! That, or they want to propose something so radically different for the class, they are getting nervous about it.


Either way, stop gorging on In-n-out double doubles, and start loving warriors.


PS. With so many brute force abilities, don't buff the ability that inflicts damage like a papercut, REND. Warriors want to crush, not inflict fairy like bleeds.

Let me quote Ghostcrawler for you from last night:

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=15276980185&pageNo=7&sid=1#124

Q u o t e:
Please remember that we have not announced all of the 3.1 changes yet. Even when 3.1 goes up on the PTR, it will not initially have all of the class changes in it. We want to get this patch up early so we have lots of time for feedback.

We want to carefully test the changes and it's just one of the reasons why we haven't implemented them en masse. If we put all the changes in at once, we get people that react saying that the changes weren't thoroughly thought through. If we trickle the changes in so that we can test things a bit more carefully, we get people that believe it's not enough because they don't see their own particular changes. Either way, someone isn't going to like our methods, but we do what we think is going to provide us the best testing platform for implementing so many new features and changes.

In this case, not only are we including more class changes, recipes, and items, we are also including a massive new raid zone, many new interface improvements, and even a whole new experience with the Argent Tournament. This is no small patch and we plan to share as much information with everyone about it as possible as well as are watching closely for feedback.

I've seen people say here that nothing changes between the PTR and Live, but that is untrue. We've seen people upset over having something on the PTR and then having it NOT make the live version. This is why we are careful to remind everyone that things can and will change based on testing, player feedback, and development's plans toward the overall health of the game.


*Edit- I nearly forgot to mention, we are perfectly capable of gorging on In-N-Out Double Doubles and loving all the classes equally.

Q u o t e:

Neth, do have any clue when the character copy page will become functional? It's kind of a downer to have the PTR all ready but I can't get any of my characters over there. :p

It's been available on and off, but when we start getting a backlog, it may be made unavailable for a time. The best thing is to keep checking back.

Q u o t e:


I'm sick of it. Starting off the PTR with nothing but nerfs for an underpowered class is heartbreaking.

We'll do what we can to mend some hearts. Just be patient with us as we get more into the patch. I know first blush isn't what you were looking for, but there is always a method to the madness as well.

Q u o t e:



Considering the number of talent/spell changes to most classes (mage?), would 3.1 be considered an class review patch?

We're purposefully not calling these class reviews due to the expectation it sets up. We want it understood that it doesn't need to be a review for changes we feel are necessary for classes to occur. These are ongoing balance changes that we have said would continue to occur past the release of Wrath of the Lich King. Also, as we add more content into the game, it changes the face of things a bit more. Such as the introduction of new encounters or items.

This is why we are very careful with what we're doing and how we're doing it. As I've said in the past, this is a mighty big machine here with a lot of moving parts, and we want to make sure that we keep it all running as smoothly as possible.

Q u o t e:


I see this quote a lot now, from Ghostcrawler as well. It seems to be a go-to line to subtly get us used to the idea that you'll never be able to balance the game. Every time I see this statement now, it sounds like a concession from Blizzard that they're just no longer up to the task of achieving balance. It's a really sad thing to keep reading. It sounds like the game has grown outside your control.

Not at all. Everyone has different perceptions of what balance is so I guess it depends on if you're asking if we'll ever achieve balance according to players or according to internal expectations. Given that we're always building onto the game though, it's hard for us to ever "settle" on any particular point of saying, "This is done. This is balanced." We don't believe in that. If we're not striving to make better or do better, then we're not doing our jobs.

When we bring up that there are a lot of moving parts, we're not saying, "we can't do it". We're saying, we have an awful lot to consider and the margin for error isn't as small as people tend to think. It's the butterfly effect. Sometimes some changes have unforeseen consequences. Sometimes things act differently in the live game than they do in a small test area. We try to take this all into account and like to let people know that we're not purposefully trying to muck anything up, but there is a lot that can and will affect other parts of the game and thus the achieving of the holy grail that is called "balance".