Cataclysm Beta Build12604

[Mania]

I swear, every time I make progress on the minor revisions to Petopia I need before Cataclysm, Blizzard pushes out a new beta build.

MMO Champion has some early data-mined notes about what's in this build.

[Saturo]

No more focuscosts on BW, and some new exciting lock abilities. Me likey!

[Kalliope]

*mumbles a LOT about warlocks*

*not jealous*

*totally not jealous*

*okay maybe I am*

That's kind of neat, though; focus magic for warlocks (only with haste).

Poor Mania! D: Hope you're still finding time to enjoy yourself on the beta.

[Mania]

The Wowhead blog also has some updated models, including one of those sexy new crocolisks. So perhaps they are finally about to get added somewhere.

[Palladiamorsdeus]

Well that's interesting. Soul Swap will, theoretically speaking, let an affliction warlock move his DoT's around at a much reduced cost if s/he is smart and pays good enough attention. Hm.

[Adam-Savage]

Not sure why they did this to be honest. It's ok for those who are very well geared but there are gonna be fresh lvl 80's or ones that don't have ICC level gear. I can understand raising it from 16k. Anyone in ICC gear would completely overpowered for them and just blaze right through. 21-25k I think would of been a halfway point.

In the next beta build the minimum level for entering and questing in Mount Hyjal and Vashj’ir will change from level 78 to level 80. All associated creature will have their levels increased to match the new flow.

Additionally, after careful review and consideration we've decided to increase the hit point values of level 80+ Cataclysm creatures. The new hit point values are roughly double their previous values.

Level 80 (OLD) - 16400
Level 80 (NEW) - 31000

Players will also now need to be level 80 in order to use the Dungeon Finder System for Throne of Tides and Blackrock Caverns.

[Shadowkaizen]

Hehe I should leave the new data stuff to Mania! lol

I am happy about these changes and I hope it brings about a starting point for tuning up some of our problems with the spec atm.

[Daranara]

They also changed out the water mount for something a little more... fitting!



It's pretty, but man does it bounce you around like a raptor on steroids....

[Zangor]

so do water mounts get added to your spell book or are they just an item? do they count towreds acheivements and such as well?

[Mania]

The one water mount we can get right now is a real mount in every way. You get it as a quest reward, but it goes into your mount UI. And I had to log in to check, but it does count towards the mount achievements.

I just got a post up on Warcraft Mounts about these beauties, by the way. There are several other colors in the data files but no info on whether we might be able to get them yet.

[Kalliope]

Giant seahorses - I love it!

Those are epic water mounts, right?

[Jangalian]

MUST HAVE IT. IT'S MADE OF PURE TEARS OF JOY.

[Fael]

They're so beautiful! I absolutely want one.

[cowmuflage]

Gah so want one now! it would be my er 110th?

[Saturo]

It's got a graphic bug, if you look at the fins on it's "chest".

[Daranara]

It's got a graphic bug, if you look at the fins on it's "chest".

Yeah, it's not -quite- finished just yet.

[Arwyn]

Now that's a nice quest reward.

[Anansi]

So what's the underwater experience like now? I know Blizzard said they were making some changes to how underwater play behaved, but I haven't seen or read anything on how it's working (or isn't working).

Currently, underwater movement and combat is horrible, movement is messy, targeting is a pain, getting to range is very awkward. The thought of a massive underwater zone in Cataclysm really puts me off unless it's hugely changed.

[Saturo]

So what's the underwater experience like now? I know Blizzard said they were making some changes to how underwater play behaved, but I haven't seen or read anything on how it's working (or isn't working).

Currently, underwater movement and combat is horrible, movement is messy, targeting is a pain, getting to range is very awkward. The thought of a massive underwater zone in Cataclysm really puts me off unless it's hugely changed.

They've already removed Breath and the speed penalty, all trough a single quest.
Two mechanics. Just removed.

-.-

[Ryai]

They've already removed Breath and the speed penalty, all trough a single quest.
Two mechanics. Just removed.

-.-

Step one: Roll shammy. Buff self with Underwater Breathing
Step two: Mount Turtle from northrend fishing.


Or alternatively.

Step One: Roll druid. Get Aquatic form.
Step Two: Glyph of Aquatic form. Increases speed to 100%.

Step three: ???

Step Four: Profit.


So yeah Saturo I don't see where you're coming from. They're making it fair for everyone. When two classes could already hax around it, another class IE warlocks could self buff to breath underwater. They already changed mechanics already by increasing the breath time to 3 minutes instead of the like 30 seconds or whatever it used to be. You remember those days?

Those days it was horrible to even look at water quests. I never did my aquatic form quests.

They were that horrible.

Those were the days when only Forsaken could be under water safely, with no buffs. Did that change break the game? No.

So yeah please, please stop trying to make a mountain, out of a molehill of a change.