2.3 Knowledge Compendium — Please Read!

Good afternoon, ladies and gents! As you've probably noticed, the 2.3 content patch has been released! This update brings a number of changes to current functionality, a slew of exciting new features, and, naturally, a few heretofore unseen issues to the table. We hope, by creating this thread, to share some of the more prominent alterations, additions, and aberrations — ah, alliteration — with you for common understanding. :)

Table of Contents:

• Progression: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=2856203894&sid=1#1
  
  • Let's get down to brass tacks. Are we getting free respecs for 2.3?
    
  • How has leveling changed with this patch?
    
  • What's this I hear about new faction-related discounts?
    
  • Why do all these NPCs have blue exclamation points ("!") above their heads?
  
  
• Raids & Dungeons: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=2856203894&sid=1#2
  
  • What do I need to know about Zul'Aman?
    
  • What level of reputation is needed to purchase Heroic dungeon keys?
  
  
• Items & Statistics: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=2856203894&sid=1#3
  
  • Where did all this spell damage come from? I'm a healer!
    
  • What happened to my Weapon Skill? What the deuce is Expertise?
    
  • Why can't I put an auction up for 8 hours anymore?
    
  • Has the in-game mail system changed with 2.3?
  
  
• Spells & Abilities: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=2856203894&sid=1#4
  
  • Why can't I cast Banish on this mob someone else is fighting?
    
  • I see. And how have portals changed in the Battlegrounds?
  
  
• PvP & Battlegrounds: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=2856203894&sid=1#5
  
  • The new and improved Alterac Valley!
    
  • My buffs don't cost me any mana in Battlegrounds; what gives?
  
  
• User Interface: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=2856203894&sid=1#6
  
  • Halp, my UI is broken! Whatever can I do?
    
  • Why did I just leave my druid form / Shadowform / Stealth when using an ability?
    
  • Do I still need my /stopcasting macros in 2.3?
  
  
• Miscellaneous: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=2856203894&sid=1#7
  
  • What's this? New Daily Quests? Tell me more!
    
  • Boats and zeppelins are now fully crewed!
    
  • How do corpses react when you die in mid-air?
  
  

We shall be updating this thread with further information as it arises; if there's anything you believe should be on this list, please do not hesitate to let us know, and we'll see about including it. Thanks for your support, folks — we hope this thread helps make 2.3 more pleasant for you. :)

PROGRESSION:

Let's get down to brass tacks. Are we getting free respecs for 2.3?
No. While the release of patch 2.3 did, indeed, change the composition of many Talent trees, we will not be providing a free talent reset.

(This information may also be found in the In-Game Knowledge Base — Article ID: 21672.)


How has leveling changed with this patch?
With the advent of patch 2.3, the following improvements have been made to leveling within the "Old World":

• The amount of experience needed to gain a level has been reduced for levels 20 to 60. (Please note that experience bars have been converted based on strict percentage)
  
• The amount of experience granted by quests has been increased for levels 30 to 60. This increase will only apply to Old World quests and not those available in Outland at level 58.
  
• Level 1 to 60 dungeon quests have had their experience and faction rewards increased.
  
• Many elite creatures and quests between levels 1 and 60 have been modified to accommodate solo play.
  

(This information may also be found in the In-Game Knowledge Base — Article ID: 21667.)


What's this I hear about new faction-related discounts?
All vendors associated with a specific faction will now provide discounts for the following reputation levels:

Friendly: 5% discount
Honored: 10% discount
Revered: 15% discount
Exalted: 20% discount

Characters of Neutral reputation or lower will not receive a discount.

(This information may also be found in the In-Game Knowledge Base — Article ID: 21664.)


Why do all these NPCs have blue exclamation points ("!") above their heads?
With patch 2.3, NPCs that provide Daily Quests will now display a blue "!" above their heads.

These blue "!" marks will also appear within your mini-map when you are near an NPC with an available Daily Quest.

(This information may also be found in the In-Game Knowledge Base — Article ID: 21683.)


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RAIDS & DUNGEONS:

What do I need to know about Zul'Aman?
Zul'Aman is a new 10-player, level 70 outdoor instance located in the Ghostlands; players who decide to topple the Amani regime will confront six new bosses, including four animalistic avatars and the Forest Troll Warlord Zul'jin, in their quest to achieve justice and acquire "phat lewt" alike.

Both Horde and Alliance characters may access Zul'Aman via the neutral flight path from Light's Hope Chapel, in the Eastern Plaguelands, allowing Alliance a means of bypassing Horde territory to reach the instance. This flight path should also be accessible from Silvermoon City.

The area directly surrounding Zul'Aman will be contested, even though the Ghostlands themselves are a safe haven for Horde players; low-level Horde players are therefore advised against venturing too near Zul'Aman's walls, lest they be assaulted by high-level mobs or characters.

Zul'Aman is on a 3-day timer — thus, players' Raid IDs should reset every three days, not contingent on weekly maintenance.

(This information may also be found in the In-Game Knowledge Base — Article ID: 21665.)


What level of reputation is needed to purchase Heroic dungeon keys?
Players may now purchase Heroic dungeon keys at Honored reputation with the associated faction, rather than the previous Revered requirement.

(This information may also be found in the In-Game Knowledge Base — Article ID: 21666.)


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ITEMS & STATISTICS:

Where did all this spell damage come from? I'm a healer!
With the advent of the 2.3 content patch, nearly every item that previously only granted healing — save for some enchantments from Zul'Gurub, among a few others — now also grants spell damage roughly equal to one-third of the +healing they provide. Thus, an item with +90 healing will now also offer about +30 spell damage. This change should allow healer classes to enjoy a bit more self-reliance in damage-dealing situations.

(This information may also be found in the In-Game Knowledge Base — Article ID: 21675.)


What happened to my Weapon Skill? What the deuce is Expertise?
As of the 2.3 content patch, all items and abilities that granted Weapon Skill or Weapon Skill Rating have been changed, and that statistic converted to Expertise or Expertise Rating. Each point of Expertise reduces the chance for your attacks to be dodged or parried by 0.25%.

Note that Weapon Expertise only applies to melee combat, so ranged weapon skill has generally been replaced by critical strike or hit bonuses.

(This information may also be found in the In-Game Knowledge Base — Article ID: 21671.)


Why can't I put an auction up for 8 hours anymore?
With the 2.3 content patch, the Auction House time periods have changed — players can now put items up for 12, 24, or 48 hours.

As a result, the option to put items up for 8 hours is no longer available. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.

(This information may also be found in the In-Game Knowledge Base — Article ID: 21679.)


Has the in-game mail system changed with 2.3?
It is now possible to attach 12 items to a single piece of in-game mail; it will still appear as one letter in the recipient's inbox.

(This information may also be found in the In-Game Knowledge Base — Article ID: 21670.)


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SPELLS & ABILITIES:

Why can't I cast Banish on this mob someone else is fighting?
With the release of the 2.3 patch, Banish can no longer be cast on targets tapped by other players or groups.

(This information may also be found in the In-Game Knowledge Base — Article ID: 21662.)


I see. And how have portals changed in the Battlegrounds?
Portal spells to major cities — or those created by use of Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian — can no longer be cast in Battlegrounds.

(This information may also be found in the In-Game Knowledge Base — Article ID: 21673.)


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PVP & BATTLEGROUNDS:

The new and improved Alterac Valley!
There have been quite a few changes made to Alterac Valley. You will find a comprehensive list of implemented modifications below:

• The Horde and Alliance now have a limited number of reinforcements available for the battle of Alterac Valley. Once a team's reinforcements have been completely depleted, the opposing team wins the battle.
  
• Reinforcements are reduced at the advent of player's death, loss of a tower, or death of Captain Galvangar or Balinda Stonehearth. In addition, all available reinforcements are lost upon the death of General Drek'Thar or Vanndar Stormpike. A team may gain reinforcements by capturing mines within the battleground.
  
• Players will no longer be sent to their starting tunnels upon death unless that team controls no graveyards in the battle.
  
• All Warmasters are linked to one another and to their respective General and cannot be be pulled individually. With this, Warmasters will no longer report for duty upon the destruction of an enemy tower; however, the destruction will still eliminate the opposing, associated Warmaster.
  
• All Commanders and Lieutenants have left Alterac Valley in search of bloodier pastures.
  
• Many NPCs in Stormpike and Frostwolf are no longer elite.
  
• Towers and graveyards are now captured in four minutes (instead of five).
  
• Honor from capturing towers has been increased.
  
• Bonus Honor is now only awarded during battle for destroying enemy towers and slaying the enemy Captain. Upon conclusion of the battle, bonus Honor is also awarded for intact towers, a surviving Captain, and for overall victory.
  

(This information may also be found in the In-Game Knowledge Base — Article ID: 21690.)


My buffs don't cost me any mana in Battlegrounds; what gives?
Players can now cast spells for free before Battleground matches begin and for a few seconds after being resurrected by a Spirit Guide.

NOTE: This functionality currently does not work for spells and abilities that cost Soul Shards. This is being investigated by Quality Assurance.

(This information may also be found in the In-Game Knowledge Base — Article ID: 21688.)


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USER INTERFACE:

Halp, my UI is broken! Whatever can I do?
Due to recent changes made to the standard World of Warcraft interface, active addons and settings may become invalid, causing several UI-related issues to arise.

These issues may include:

Missing action bars or bag slots
Inability to view specific chat channels
Known recipes or schematics disappearing
Receiving errors when attempting to access a letter in the in-game mail
Character appearing un-textured or white upon logging in
Character's items and abilities appearing as ?s

While simply disabling your addons may resolve these discrepancies, the only means by which to guarantee that a given issue is not being caused by the UI is to fully reset it.

The steps are as follows:

1) Log out of World of Warcraft to your desktop, thereby exiting the game completely.
2) Navigate to the World of Warcraft folder, which is often found in the Program Files directory (the default path is C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft).
3) Either rename (or delete) the WTF, Cache and Interface folders. (Note: If you do not wish to permanently lose any third-party addons you may have accrued, or macros you've written for your characters, you would be well-advised to merely rename the folders, rather than delete them entirely.)
4) Log back into the game by double-clicking WoW.exe, ensuring that you do not reinstall any addons before doing so.

If your issue persists after resetting your UI, you may wish to submit an in-game petition so that a representative of the Game Master department can provide further assistance.

(This information may also be found in the In-Game Knowledge Base — Article ID: 21663.)


Why did I just leave my druid form / Shadowform / Stealth when using an ability?
As of the 2.3 content patch, players are now automatically shifted out of their current form — including druid forms, priests' Shadowform, and rogues' Stealth — if they attempt to cast a spell that cannot be used in that form. For example, if a druid in Moonkin Form attempts to cast Healing Touch, he or she will shift out of Moonkin Form and begin casting it. Note that, in the case of druids, this only applies to caster form abilities.

If you wish to prevent this from occurring, type this in your chat window:

/console autoUnshift 0

If you then wish to reenable this functionality, use the following command:

/console autoUnshift 1

(This information may also be found in the In-Game Knowledge Base — Article ID: 21674.)


Do I still need my /stopcasting macros in 2.3?

As of the 2.3 content patch, the /stopcasting command no longer need be used in macros to cast a new spell before the end of the current cast. You can now try casting anew by default, and therefore get casts to the server sooner — this should result in more back-to-back casting.

Note, however, the following:

• The global cooldown is client side, and you can never cast more often than the global cooldown (when triggered)
  
• This change does not result in reduced cast time. If you send your cast too early, it will still fail because another spell is in progress.
  

That said, the /stopcasting command should still be used if one wishes to cancel a current spellcast and use an "emergency" ability, e.g. Ice Block. But many other circumstances (such as using both an item and a spell at once) shall not require the command. As an example:

Old:
/use Trinket of Fiery Doom
/stopcasting
/cast Presence of Mind
/stopcasting
/cast Pyroblast

New:
/use Trinket of Fiery Doom
/cast Presence of Mind
/cast Pyroblast

For further information, please consult our UI & Macros Forum: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/board.html?forumId=11114&sid=1

(This information may also be found in the In-Game Knowledge Base — Article ID: 21673.)


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MISCELLANEOUS:

What's this? New Daily Quests? Tell me more!
Several new daily quests have been added to the game!

For each category (listed below), one quest—selected at random—will become available to all eligible players every day. These quests will count towards your daily total count of 10 and will reset each morning at 3am (server time).

Battleground-Specific Daily Quests:

• Call to Arms: Arathi Basin
  
• Call to Arms: Alterac Valley
  
• Call to Arms: Eye of the Storm
  
• Call to Arms: Warsong Gulch

These quests are provided by Brigadier Generals and Warbringers located within each major city for Alliance and Horde players, respectively.


Non-Heroic Dungeon Daily Quests:

• Wanted: Shattered Hand Centurions
  
• Wanted: Coilfang Myrmidons
  
• Wanted: Malicious Instructors
  
• Wanted: Rift Lords
  
• Wanted: Sunseeker Channelers
  
• Wanted: Tempest-Forge Destroyers
  
• Wanted: Arcatraz Sentinels

These quests are provided by Nether-Stalker Mah'duun, located within Shattrath's Lower City. You must be level 70 in order to participate.

Heroic Dungeon Daily Quests:

• Wanted: Nazran's Riding Crop
  
• Wanted: Keli'dan's Feathered Stave
  
• Wanted: Bladefist's Seal
  
• Wanted: The Heart of Quagmirran
  
• Wanted: A Black Stalker Egg
  
• Wanted: The Warlord's Treatise
  
• Wanted: The Headfeathers of Ikiss
  
• Wanted: Shaffar's Wondrous Pendant
  
• Wanted: The Exarch's Soul Gem
  
• Wanted: Murmur's Whisper
  
• Wanted: The Epoch Hunter's Head
  
• Wanted: Aeonus' Hourglass
  
• Wanted: A Warp Splinter Clipping
  
• Wanted: Pathaleon's Projector
  
• Wanted: The Scroll of Skyriss

These quests are provided by Wind Trader Zhareem, located within Shattrath's Lower City. You must be level 70 and in possession of the appropriate Heroic Dungeon key in order to participate.

Cooking Daily Quests:

• Revenge is Tasty
  
• Super Hot Stew
  
• Manalicious
  
• Soup for the Soul

These quests are provided by The Rokk located within Shattrath's Lower City. You must be level 70 and possess a Cooking skill of at least 275 in order to participate.

(This information may also be found in the In-Game Knowledge Base — Article ID: 21681.)

Boats and zeppelins are now fully crewed!
Ever found yourself en route to Kalimdor or Eastern Kingdoms only to discover you forgot to buy water and reagents? Well, worry no longer! As of 2.3, all boats and zeppelins are now staffed and stocked for your convenience.

Boats now contain:

• Full crew
  
• Engineer (Vendor: Repair and Reagents)
  
• Galley Chef (Vendor: Food and Drink)
  
• PvP-enabled guards (Note: This does not apply for The Maiden's Fancy)
  

Zeppelins now contain:

• Full crew
  
• Vendo-Tron D-Luxe (Vendor: Reagents)
  
• Snack-O-Matic (Vendor: Food and Drink)
  
• PvP-enabled guards
  

NOTE: Zeppelins do not contain NPCs or doodads which provide players the ability to repair while on board. This is functioning correctly.

(This information may also be found in the In-Game Knowledge Base — Article ID: 21687.)


How do corpses react when you die in mid-air?
As of 2.3, corpses now fall naturally with geometry. As a result, players who die in mid-air should be able to recover their corpses.

(This information may also be found in the In-Game Knowledge Base — Article ID: 21685.)


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Q u o t e:
Nice collection of info about the new patch, but the one question I have, and some in my guild have is, what is the reset Timer for Zul'Aman? According to Eyonix the its on a shorter respec then Karazhan, but no specific time was mentioned. thanks.

Zul'Aman is a on a 3-day timer; the applicable post has been edited to reflect this information. Thanks for the question! :)

Q u o t e:
This will make the font bold and the actual underline blue.

I'm afraid this doesn't seem to have the desired effect. Thanks, though. :)

Q u o t e:
Were there any changes to resistances? I seem to be getting resisted far more often now.

There weren't any changes to spell resistances of which we're aware, Meowmixer; we'll keep an eye out for further reports. :)

Q u o t e:
There's a certain combination. Try this:
[u"][b"]Table of Contents:[/b"][/u"]

Ah, there we are. Thanks for the tip, Krypter. :)

Q u o t e:
Oh, your table of contents is backwards... PVP is 5, UI is 6.

Heh, I knew I'd get the order mixed up if I moved 'em around. Thanks! :)

Q u o t e:
Please unconfuse me. The Skill tab on the character info window still shows weapon skills, including ranged (crossbow). Nothing is showing in "Expertise" for melee. From reading both patch notes and this thread, I can't figure out if this is this normal. Is it normal? If "skill" was converted with this patch, as it seems to say above, wouldn't I see a non-null "Expertise" reading in the Melee damage window? Is weapon skill still to be factored into game play after the patch? How?

My apologies for the confusion, Klaatu; it is not weapon skill itself that has been removed, but rather bonuses to that statistic on items and abilities. As an example, prior to the 2.3 patch, the Fang of Vashj granted 21 dagger skill rating; this has since been changed to 21 expertise rating. Note that characters' dagger skill, per se, has not been altered, merely those factors which affected it. If you'll look at the "Character" tab of your character info window, and change the dropdown menu to "Melee," you'll see your Expertise rating listed at the bottom. Does that help? :)

Information regarding new Daily Quests has been added. :)

Oh, curses! I knew it was unwise to attempt such an endeavor before my morning coffee.

Fixed, though—in both locations. :)

All addressed. :)