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This twitter developer chat was focused on the recent beta talent tree overhaul announced for Cataclysm. Lots of information came out including drastic changes to the paladin class. A lot of the answers had to do with the fact that a couple classes aren’t very done in the current beta build that everyone has been poring over.

Some highlights:

• paladins will be using a new Holy Power resource system in addition to mana
• all death knights will gain Runic Empowerment via trainers for all specs
• no planned hard cap for the new Mastery stat
• still no guild housing

The full categorized round-up is after the break.

Continue reading Twitter developer chat for July 16, 2010, organized by category

Filed under: Druid, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, Warrior, Blizzard, Interviews, Death Knight, Cataclysm, Worgen, Goblin

Twitter developer chat for July 16, 2010, organized by category originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading The Care and Feeding of Warriors: Cataclysm beta first impressions

Filed under: Warrior, Analysis / Opinion, (Warrior) The Care and Feeding of Warriors, Cataclysm

The Care and Feeding of Warriors: Cataclysm beta first impressions originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The latest Cataclysm screenshot from Blizzard is shown above. There’s definitely a new Egyptian feel to the titan zones in Cataclysm, which is a nice change from the Norse vibe of Wrath.

If you’ve missed any of the previous Cataclysm screenshots of the day or you want to see a high-res version of today’s image, check out the gallery below.

Filed under: Cataclysm

Cataclysm screenshot of the day originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The intrepid Boubouille over at MMO-Champion has unearthed another beautiful gem in the Cataclysm beta. Namely? The Move To button. This command is fairly simple on the surface but will add a plethora of options to pet classes. (The pet classes, of course, are hunters, death knights, warlocks and mages.) When you press the button, you get a ground target reticle. Move the reticle where you wish your pet to stand, click your mouse and the pet goes there. And then it stands. That’s pretty simple, right?

In PvP, this new option will create a whole new level of positioning and feinting using one’s pet. If the enemy team is training your pet, you can tell it to run behind a pillar. In PvE, you’ll be able to guide your pet out of fire, set it to a more appropriate position or otherwise make it act like a beast that obeys your commands. It’s going to be pretty awesome; I’m likely to spend my first few hours learning a bunch of stupid pet tricks.

Right now, the actual icon for the Move To command is missing, but the button still works.

Filed under: Cataclysm

Cataclysm Beta: Pets’ new Move To command originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you weren’t aware that a new Cataclysm beta build went live this week with updated talent trees for all classes … well … surprise! Though we can certainly expect more changes as the beta progresses (read: don’t panic), this is our first look at Blizzard’s new talent philosophy, coming to a server near you with Cataclysm. Now enough of my rambling on and let’s get to the talents: Matt Sampson, Rich Maloy and Joe Perez provide analysis for the changes of each shaman tree.

Filed under: Shaman, Analysis / Opinion, (Shaman) Totem Talk

Cataclysm Beta: Shaman talent analysis originally appeared on WoW.com on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The latest build of the Cataclysm beta opened Deepholm, Azeroth’s elemental plane of earth, for questing and leveling. Understandably, the big question on everybody’s mind was “how exactly do we get there?” It’s underground, after all, in another dimension.

Well, as it turns out, it involves a certain orc shaman, a particularly large whirlpool, and a very brave flying mount. Check out the incredibly epic entry into Deepholm in our video after the break, and then try to imagine how anything else in the expansion can top that flight — or that zone.

Continue reading Cataclysm Beta: Entering Deepholm

Filed under: Cataclysm

Cataclysm Beta: Entering Deepholm originally appeared on WoW.com on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The huge, earthshaking 31-point talent overhaul has hit the Cataclysm beta servers, taking the death knight class to new ground, back to the old vanilla era of 31-point trees. It may be for this reason that Blizzard’s specifically said that our trees are far from done. With that in my mind, the trees and specialization skills we see can and will change pretty extensively between now and release. That said, there’s no harm and certainly some good to be had in sizing up the trees as they stand right now and seeing how they pan out.

Continue reading Cataclysm Beta: Death knight talents and specializations

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, News items, Death Knight, Cataclysm

Cataclysm Beta: Death knight talents and specializations originally appeared on WoW.com on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The huge, earthshaking 31-point talent overhaul has hit the Cataclysm beta servers, taking the death knight class to new ground, back to the old vanilla era of 31-point trees. It may be for this reason that Blizzard’s specifically said that our trees are far from done. With that in my mind, the trees and specialization skills we see can and will change pretty extensively between now and release. That said, there’s no harm and certainly some good to be had in sizing up the trees as they stand right now and seeing how they pan out.

Continue reading Cataclysm Beta: Death knight talents and specializations

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, News items, Death Knight, Cataclysm

Cataclysm Beta: Death knight talents and specializations originally appeared on WoW.com on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The latest Cataclysm screenshot from Blizzard is shown above, and involves some Gilnean gentlemen on horses. I continue to love those top hats, which are going to be the hottest item in all of Cataclysm.

If you’ve missed any of the previous Cataclysm screenshots of the day or you want to see a high-res version of today’s image, check out the gallery below.

Filed under: Cataclysm

Cataclysm screenshot of the day originally appeared on WoW.com on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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My first reaction to seeing the new, streamlined talent trees was, “We’ll all be cookie cutter specs now!” I mulled it over for a bit, hashed it out with some people on Twitter and came to the conclusion that the new streamlined specs are a good thing, in principle. Ask yourself, when was the last time you respecced to move one to two points around? How much are you really losing with the slimmed-down trees?

My shaman, Stoneybaby, hasn’t respecced in … I don’t even know when, but I’m sure it’s been many months. I have my raiding spec, in which I could move one or two points around — should I take 2/3 Improved Shields or 3/3 Improved Shields? Ultimately, it makes little difference; I picked my raiding spec and my PvP spec, and I go forth with those until the game requires a change. I don’t need a lot of choice because I won’t use it.

On the other hand, my druid is a bit different. He’s specced balance for AoE farming Chunk o’ Mammoth (my wolves need their Spiced Mammoth Treats!) and feral bear for tanking alt raids. For raids, I either tank or I tank — take your pick. He’s mostly useless as DPS in raids because he doesn’t have the proper hit, mana regen or focused damage talents; he’s built to kill a dozen mobs at once out in the field. I like the choice so I can specialize in AoE farming.

In the case of my shaman, I really don’t need that one- or two-point customization, and so lamenting the loss of deep, complex talent trees is just the loss of choice for the sake of choice. For my druid, I really do want and use the complexity of the current specs. Overall though, I think the slimmed-down trees will enrich the game without dumbing it down.

What about you? Do you really want deep choice in spec customization, or are you just lamenting the loss of the illusion of choice?

Filed under: Breakfast Topics

Breakfast Topic: The illusion of choice originally appeared on WoW.com on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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