3.1 is coming (Patch Notes included)

[Benggal]

So here are the latest 3.1 Notes as things stand on the PTR:

http://www.wowhead.com/?patchnotes=3.1.0-ptr

After reading through all of them, I find myself a bit emotionally confused.

I'm excited for the whole dual spec system they're implementing (even with the one-time 1k g fee), and several of you should be anticipating the gear-switching system they're working on (one-click switching between your preset armor configurations...pretty nice for those of you who fulfill multiple roles).

Also, for the PvPers among us, soon you'll be able to queue for a Battleground wherever you want, without having to visit a major city and twiddle your thumbs for however long it takes.  I think that's pretty spiffy.

However, after reading through the trade skill changes, I'm a bit disappointed.  The changes to some of the engineering schematics are semi-nice, but I was expecting more schematics to be added.  What about all of those "fun" things we got back in Vanilla WoW?  Seems like a select handful of professions are always getting more things added to their library, while others get a modicum of attention and then shoved to the rear.

It's also a bit disheartening to see that they're dumbing down several of the professions.  Mining and herbing are going to be even easier, which I think isn't necessary, and cooking and fishing, professions that I took pride in having reached the highest tiers in, are also getting an easymode makeover.  They're taking SPICES out of the recipes for several food items, for crying out loud.  WTF is the point in calling it cooking anymore?  Just call it what it is:  Burning Sh*t.

New fishing quests are going in, as well as a rare(?) mount that you can get through fishing, somehow.  That's nice, I suppose.  But really, it's already an easy game...why do they have to take away any semblance of challenge from these things?  *sigh*

Anyhoo, I urge you all to peruse these as time allows.  They aren't definitive, but seeing as how Blizz will be adding another friggin' holiday to the Long, Strange Trip meta and that holiday is creeping up on us, I expect this or something similar to it will be implemented by the end of this month or beginning of next.

EDIT:  Oh, I almost forgot to include one of the more frightening changes for several of our members:

"New! Spirit: The amount of mana regeneration granted by this stat has been reduced by 40%."

Hope nobody is still stacking Spirit.

[papalovebear]

Yea lucky for me I don't stack spirit at all.  That's interesting though I wonder how they got hte mechanics to work with that. . .

The other stuff, yea I agree making hte game easier if definitely what they have been doing for awhile, not a fan.

[Brio]

This amuses me:
Leaving a group while in an instance will now port you to the nearest graveyard rather than your Hearthstone location.

[~Aster Blaster~]

I don't understand the spirit change, I can run OOM on boss fights even with my spirit if I'm not careful.

Spirit was garbage for so long until they finally buffed it now they're going back after they made a bunch of talents work off of it...

So I regen 881 mp5 when not casting, 311 while casting.

So I'm only 59 raw mp5 from gear (since this stuff scaled so terribly with the expansion)... which means that 822 mana regen is from my spirit.

My tool-tip says 814 mana regen from my 952 self-buffed spirit.  After a 40% reduction I'm at 488ish, what a load of crap.

Talents using spirit: Meditation, Spirit of Redemption, Spiritual Guidance... basically spirit keeps a priests mana pool big enough to heal through a long fight.  If we can't regen mid-battle like I do now (periodically stop for 10 seconds to get back 800-1k mana), we're very likely to go OOM.  Honestly this is a terrible change, it doesn't appear to be justified other than simply burning priests who are currently the least played class and they've stated before that healers they feel are the most balanced class.  If my priest starts going OOM mid-fight on boss fights I'm retiring her, I shouldn't have to re-gear/re-gem/re-spec for blizzards incompetance to end up in a worse position than I am after the time I've spent gearing.

And then they nerf druids.  Apparently they had to many hp and to much armor.  Because its not like having lower evasion or the fact that an extra 1 or 2% damage reduction vs. other tanks on bosses made them that much better.  Having armor and hp and being able to pump out reasonable damage is what made a bear tank.  Apparently now death knights are supposed to be the quick ones to high armor and warriors are to be the biggest hp and death knights doing the damage, guess they don't want bears around, not like I get to play mine anyway.

A few moot upgrades for my classes but nothing really to compensate for the losses.

Engineering gets forgotten with crap upgrades, they can't come up with anything original aside from a really cool motorcycle that they let anyone have.  Profession provides so little to its users and even less to others.

Inscriptions gets new stuff, big and handy because once again as soon as people have their glyphs they're done and the profession sits there not being used.  Maybe the respec will help, but honestly this profession is the biggest waste of time, random northrend cards for a good purple trinket while tailoring smithing etc. get multipul purples that just have cooldowns, I'd take a 20 hour cooldown on a part rather than a random 1-36 chance of getting what you need.

If my toons end up worse off this just seems like a good time to move on.  After spending so long gearing them up to have blizzard nerf them when they really aren't out of line with other classes (I know because I've healed bear tanks and been healed by priests and pvped against both on multipul classes) it just seems like a good time to move on.  Dual specs is cool but choosing between two bloated poorly made trees on my priest to be sub-par to other healers and garbage in pvp or speccing bear to be a less absorbant tank than others vs. something i don't want to play.  Overall this patch is crap, looking like a final straw.

[papalovebear]

Any word on when this is patch is coming out?

[Benggal]

"Soon".

Although, as I mentioned in the original post, I'm almost 100% certain it'll be out before the middle of April.

[papalovebear]

I want it now!

[Zanzier]

Frankly, I see it as Blizz has missed 90% of the things that are still broken and getting more and more like when EQ started to plummet in the fun department. The (gimme-gimme)whiners keep winning and it's ruining it for everyone else. Sure, there's only a couple of things I see that are a plus in the entire listing, but as a whole, it is very disappointing.

[papalovebear]

I just want dual spec.  Everything else is fluff to me :)

[Morendo]

Engineering had all the cool stuff taken by jewelcrafters, curse them!

[Piken]

Who is this Morendo guy?

[papalovebear]

It's nice to see both you guys

[Kaelianna]

Piken???  Morendo??  WTF.... Old home week.  Nice to see you guys are still around.

[Brio]

<checks the dates on the post> 

Why, Hello, guys.    I thought I saw Morendo in Dalaran the other day... :)

All this talk about spirit had me worried... so I checked my toon... I can honestly say it really will not affect me.  My spirit is a whopping grand total of 144.  However, for other toons, I hope that they have something up their sleeve to even this out.

But duel spec is something that I'm ready for.  Being a healer is only really great in a group :(

[Morendo]

Why, Hello, guys.    I thought I saw Morendo in Dalaran the other day... Smiley

Dang, I've been spotted!