Patch 5.3 Release Date Is Confirmed By Blizzard on Twitter

World of Warcraft Patch 5.3: #Escalation is releasing Tuesday, May 21. bit.ly/16flrlG

— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) May 18, 2013

Blizzard has taken to twitter of all places to announce the patch 5.3 release date: it’s May 21st! This is in just a few days time, that’s right, it lands on Tuesday, and Wednesday in the EU. There’s an absolute ton of stuff going on in this patch, so do check out all Gamebreaker’s coverage! There’s big changes that take the grind out of Pandaria, there’s a 33% nerf to the XP required to get from 85-90, and there’s a change that removes bad luck from your charms! Every time you use one you’ll get luckier and luckier. 

What’s more there are also heroic scenarios, which will require a pre-made group, have greater challenges and drop high end loot as well as a ton of valor. Not only that, but 2 new ranks are being added to the Brawler’s Guild, as well as a new area specifically for rank 8 players to hang out.

What’s more there are massive changes coming to PvP. Resilience’s days are over, it’s all going to be base resil now, and PvP Power is king. There are also changes to the amount of PvP Power on gear, as well as PvE gear being scaled back in PvP instances. We’re all going to be really interested to see the outcome of these changes. 

You can check out Blizzard’s official guide to getting ready for patch 5.3 here.

So, what do you think? Is the patch 5.3 release date sooner than you thought it would be? It’s certainly come in fairly fast, only a few days after the release candidate hit the PTR. Of course, this patch has no additional raid content, but there’s a huge amount of stuff coming in!

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The latest Patch 5.3 PTR build is up, and has brought some fairly major changes to the leveling process of Mining and Herbalism. 

Patch 5.3 seems to be a bit of a melting pot where Blizzard’s devs are trying out various different ideas for the game, and one of those new ideas is encapsulated in the changes coming in for two of World of Warcraft’s gathering professions, Mining and Herbalism. 

To sum up the change, a catch-up mechanic has now been introduced for max-level characters, where they can herb and mine their way from level one to Zen Master just on the continent of Pandaria. There’s no need to visit a single old world node, no need to ever take the teleport back to your home city, the days of stranglekelp and copper ore are dead and gone. 

Instead, you will now be mining and herbing the current herbs and ores, just very, very slowly. I took my max-level patch 5.3 PTR warlock, and dropped her professions to pick up herbalism and mining, then went to find a node or two. 

I started with mining, and as you can hopefully see from the image, my skill level is 1, but I’m mining Ghost Iron. Doing so will cause the node to despawn, and will also award the miner a Ghost Iron Nugget. The same applies for herbs, where fragments are discovered from nodes rather than full stacks. As your skill increases, the number of herbs and nuggets obtained does too. Ten of these fragments, shards, stems, or whatever the particular one you’re gathering is called will combine into one of the complete thing. So 10 Ghost Iron Nuggets turns into one Ghost Iron Ore, for example. 

What do you think of this new system? Will it cause problems for the markets for these materials, given that anyone at all can now mine and herb the current things that you need? Will it cause a market crash? And what other professions need reworking? It occurs to me that there are others that could have done with such a change far more than herbing, certainly, such as Leatherworking and Skinning, which are two of the worst to level in my opinion. What do you think? 

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Patch 5.3 is coming and Blizzard have created a guide to the changes!

Blizzard Community Manager Daxxarri has posted an excellent summary of all the things you need to know about Patch 5.3, including various changes we’ve covered at length here on Gamebreaker, on both Legendary and in articles. There are various things to look at, which I explain at greater length in the video, and Daxxarri’s post is below, in full. 

The main news is the return of item upgrades. PvPers can upgrade season 12 items, at the same cost as before, 750 Conquest for two upgrades of four item levels, and 1500 honor points for an upgrade of eight item levels. PvE gear can be upgraded in the usual manner, at the reduced cost of 250 Valor Points to upgrade by 4 Item Levels, for a total of 500 Valor in exchange for 8 Item Levels per item. This also applies retroactively to all items that can be upgraded using Valor, and the exact same numbers apply to Justice gear.

 More and more sources of lesser charms of good fortune are being added, as the article states, 

• Outdoor world creatures level 90 and above now have a chance to drop Lesser Charms of Good Fortune.
• Rare spawns in Pandaria (except Zandalari Warscouts and Zandalari Warbringers) and bosses encountered as part of the Battlefield: Barrens quest event in Kalimdor will drop Lesser Charms of Good Fortune.

And the XP required to go from 85-90 is being nerfed by almost a third! Are the devs finally seeing the error of their ways?

Now that the patch is on the horizon, we’ve narrowed down some of the key things you might want to know before the big day. If you want to find out more about everything that’s coming, you can check out the latest Public Test Realm patch notes, or even download and play on the PTR itself.

Be Prepared
Hold on to some of those currencies you’ve been earning over the course of patch 5.2. The gear-upgrading Void Binders are returning in patch 5.3, but it will be cheaper to upgrade items using Valor and Justice Points. Upgradeable PvP items from Season 12 will be eligible for upgrade once again at their original costs. In addition, Heirloom items will be cheaper to upgrade, whether you’re using Justice Points, Honor Points, or Darkmoon Faire tickets. We’re also speeding up the leveling process from 85 to 90. Here are the details:

• The experience required to level from 85 to 90 will be reduced by 33%. Time to dust off those alts!
• The Void Binders are coming back!The amount of Justice, Honor, and Darkmoon Faire tickets needed to upgrade Heirloom items will be reduced by 60%.
  • Items upgraded with Valor will now cost 250 Valor Points to upgrade per 4 Item Levels, for a total of 500 Valor for 8 Item Levels per item. This applies retroactively to all items that can be upgraded using Valor.
  • Items upgraded with Justice will now cost 750 Justice Points to upgrade for 8 Item Levels. They can only be upgraded once, for a total of 750 Justice and 8 Item Levels per item. This applies retroactively to all items that can be upgraded using Justice.
  • Malevolent Gladiator’s Conquest (Season 12) items that have upgrades available will still be upgradable at their original Conquest Point costs (750 Conquest Points per 4 Item Levels, with two upgrades possible).
  • Dreadful Gladiator’s Honor (Season 12) items that have upgrades available will still be upgradable at their original costs (one upgrade at a cost of 750 1500 Honor Points for 8 Item Levels).
  • No other PvP items will be able to be upgraded.

Item Level Requirements
Are you ready to face the Raid Finder, Heroic dungeons, and new Heroic Scenarios? Make sure that you’re geared up to dive right in:

• Heroic Scenarios require an average Item Level of 480; unlike normal Scenarios, you’ll need a pre-made party to enter.
• An average Item Level of 435 is required for Heroic dungeons.
• An average Item Level of 460 is required for the Raid Finder version of Mogu’shan Vaults.
• An average item level of 470 is required for Raid Finder versions of Heart of Fear and Terrace of Endless Spring.
• An average Item Level of 480 is required for the Raid Finder version of Throne of Thunder.

Lesser Charms of Good Fortune
We’re adding more ways to acquire Lesser Charms of Good Fortune in patch 5.3. In addition to the changes that took effect in patch 5.2, which reduced the number of Lesser Charms of Good Fortune required to purchase three Mogu Runes of Fate from 90 to 50 and allowed players to earn Lesser Charms from Pet Battles, these new sources of Lesser Charms will be available in patch 5.3:

• Outdoor world creatures level 90 and above now have a chance to drop Lesser Charms of Good Fortune.
• Rare spawns in Pandaria (except Zandalari Warscouts and Zandalari Warbringers) and bosses encountered as part of the Battlefield: Barrens quest event in Kalimdor will drop Lesser Charms of Good Fortune.

PvP Season Update 
PvP Season 13 is still in full swing. We discussed many of the changes coming to PvP gear in our PvP Gear in 5.2 and Preparing for PvP in Patch 5.3 blogs, and the changes below are explained in greater detail there. As a reminder, the 7,250 Conquest Point requirement to purchase non-elite Conquest Point weapons is being removed with patch 5.3.

A number of significant changes are coming to PvP and PvP gear:

• All characters now have a base Resilience of 65%.
• Battle Fatigue now reduces the effectiveness of healing and absorb spells and abilities by 45% (was 30%).
• PvP Power bonus to healing is now based on class and specialization.
  • Healing specializations receive a 100% bonus to healing from PvP Power.
  • Damage specializations for Druids, Monks, Paladins, Priests, and Shaman receive a 70% bonus to healing from PvP Power.
  • All other specializations and classes (including tanking) receive a 40% bonus to healing from PvP Power.

Patching Smoothly
It’s easy to make sure that you’re ready to play when the realms become available on patch day. If you haven’t played in a while, one of the simplest things you can do is open the World of Warcraft launcher and allow the updater to download the latest available game files. If you use user interface add-ons, make sure you have the latest versions and that they’re updated and ready to go for the new patch. This is also a good time to update your video card’s drivers.

If you experience any patching issues, there’s a technical support forum thread all about patching that could help. You can also follow @BlizzardCS on Twitter for the latest support-related news.

Getting Additional Account Help
If you’re having an issue with your account, a number of resources are available to you. If other players are experiencing a similar issue, they may have already posted about it on the Customer Support forum locatedhere, so that can sometimes be a good first stop. If you need more information or direct assistance, theBattle.net Support site will allow you to search through available solutions, submit a support ticket, or contact customer support directly.

A compilation of resources and information can also be found on the Customer Support forum, including information on in-game support, reporting bugs and cheats, submitting suggestions, reporting forum violations, and sharing forum feedback.

Good luck, and we’ll see you in Azeroth!

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Activision Blizzard announced the drop in WoW Subscription Numbers in a press release today.

 The WoW subscription numbers have taken yet another hit, with a 1.3 million subscriber drop between February and May, Kotaku reports. They add that the subscriber loss has mostly come from eastern markets, but even so, this is over a 25% total loss from the dizzying heights of the Wrath of the Lich King subscriber numbers. 

We’ve joked about WoW being dead here before on Gamebreaker, and we’re hoping it’s pretty clear that we’re not being wholly serious this time either. The game has not gone the way of the dodo, it is not pushing up the daisies, it is not an ex-MMORPG just yet. Even with this drop, the WoW subscriber numbers are very healthy compared to just about any other MMORPG on the market right now. And for a title of its age to be able to maintain such a large base, even in the face of some stiff competition is impressive indeed. 8.3 million people is not a small number. 

Nonetheless, this is the lowest WoW subscription number point since early in 2007. It is a natural low point in the expansion cycle, with the latest patch on its way, and an uptick could well appear. Mists of Pandaria has been a divisive expansion, heralded jointly as being the best the game has been, and one of the worst grinds of recent years. But is this drop in numbers due to the changes in WoW, or the changes in the gaming world around it? WoW has a very diverse appeal: with a subscriber base of this size it’s nigh on impossible to please everyone, and are the players who joined later on just too different to those who came in at the start?

While WoW is hardly dead in the water, one has to wonder: what’s causing the subscription losses? And will it ever regain them?

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NetEase has launched a Mists-Focused WoW Mahjong Set

 NetEase, one of the world’s largest retailers of WoW-focused and other Blizzard merchandise, has launched a WoW Mahjong Set. This set, while not specifically advertised as having a Mists of Pandaria theme, features Pandaria as well as the Panda pawprint emblem heavily throughout. 

As can be seen, above, the tiles all feature the panda pawprint, which is also emblazoned on the poker chips which can be seen in the middle, and the dice. The cloth play-mat, when folded out, is a map of Pandaria, The box itself is also WoW-themed.

The cost of the set is around $208, according to currency conversion websites at today’s rates, which are of course subject to change, it is priced at 1288 Yuan on the NetEase website. The set is a limited edition of 1,000, which is rumored to be the worldwide allocation, rather than just the allocation for China’s market, but given how popular it’s proving, and the coverage it’s getting, we can only hope for more copies to be created. I know I’d like one! 

If you do want to try to get your hands on one of these limited edition WoW Mahjong sets, the first thing you’ll need is some software that translates webpages, such as Google Translate, unless you’re fluent in Chinese. There doesn’t appear to be an english option! Once you’ve got that down, you’ll need to find your way to the page where you sign up for a NetEase account, and do so. You’ll get a verification email, which may well land in your spam folder, and that will let you place your name in the pre-order section. It doesn’t seem overly expensive for something so beautifully made, so be prepared for disappointment! 

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Service Award Includes Blizzard Sword Mounted With a Shield

There’s a new item up on Ebay that includes a Blizzard sword and shield. This awesome set is a service award for Blizz employees of five and ten years. Now, you too can know what’s it’s like to own the spoils of working for the gaming behemoth. The Blizzard sword is given to members of the team who have reached the five-year mark. The Shield goes to those who have stuck it out—or survived—for ten. Ebay vendor, Gemmintwen, has put these items up for bid and he’s asking $20,000 for them.

“This is an extremely RARE collectible from one of the 21st century’s greatest games and employers…There are VERY few of these given out over the years.  The current/past employees cherish them as a priceless museum piece and reminder of their hard work and dedication over a minimum of 10 consecutive years.  How many of these do you think exist?”

The Blizzard Swords and Shields ceremony takes place every year to honor the employees who have made it to the five and ten year milestones of employment. There is a special ring given to those who make it to fifteen. The very few folks who have reached twenty years—remember Blizzard started in 1991—receive a beautiful Diablo-inspired mask. Most of these items stick with the same design, but each year sees a unique sword. The Blizzard Swords and Shields website has photos of them all.

Gemmintwen specializes in Blizzard collectables, specifically those from employees. The vendor boasts that each item is bought directly from an ex-employee. Other items include a bronze statue given exclusively to employees in 2007 and holiday cards. The name of the employee who has sold the Blizzard sword and shield has been taken away for privacy. However, that information will be revealed to the buyer as proof of authenticity.

How much do you think a Blizzard sword and shield would be worth? Is 20K a steep price, or is it an investment in something that will be worth more down the road? Perhaps a collector will nab it, mount it on the wall and dream of being part of the magic. 

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Richard Harlow, a Blind Raider, Dominates DPS Charts

“There’s actually several characters in WoW that people haven’t really thought about that are blind,” said Richard Harlow, a blind raider in World of Warcraft. He told me that tidbit after I mentioned I was thinking about using the Burning Crusade baddie, Illidan, in an image for this article. “There’s a dragon in Black Wing Decent (Atramedes) that’s blind. The whole way that you did that fight was actually through sound. He would try to find where you were using sound. That’s my favorite fight in the game. Hands down.” 

Richard Harlow, of Nanaimo British Columbia is a comedian, sociology student and a blind raider. He has beseeched the gaming community for some help paying for medicine that could bring back his sight. He has set up a fundraiser to pay for expensive medication that could literally cure his blindness. There is less than a week left to gain pledges that could turn this blind raider into a regular ol’ raider, which is probably something the average gamer takes for granted.

Harlow’s story is almost unbelievable. He was attending Emily Carr University in Vancouver studying 3-D animation and media arts when he noticed something was wrong with his right eye. He was loosing his sight. “That happened in June of 2009,” he told me. “By Thanksgiving of that year, I was legally blind in that eye. By Christmas the same thing started to happen in my left eye and then by March of 2010 I was legally blind.”

For a while it wasn’t certain what was wrong with Harlow, and it was going to be a long time before specific test results were in. It was decided that he should undergo chemotherapy and painful steroid treatments just in case it was some kind of cancer, which turned out not to be the case. He went through chemo for nothing. “If I would have not gone for the chemo then I probably would have felt that I did not do everything in my power to get my sight back.” 

Harlow now knows that he has Leber’s optic neuropathy, a rare hereditary disease that causes the loss of central vision. The crazy part is: there’s a possible cure. It’s basically a bottle of pills that costs a minimum of $12,000. The estimated length of the treatment would likely cost more along the lines of $24,000 for Richard. It is expensive because the disease affects such few people that it is hard to cover costs for making the drug. Insurance companies don’t pay for it and neither does his Canadian health care.

Yes, he is a blind raider

The night before our interview, my team pulled Harlow into our raid. We needed a DPS, and he agreed to come. To be 100% honest, I was concerned. We had spent the past few raid nights wiping on a boss with complicated mechanics. Throwing a blind guy into the mix didn’t seem like the best idea. I changed my mind after our team got the boss down in one shot. While running to the next fight, I checked out the damage meters. He beat out five regular members of our 25-man team… and he wasn’t even on his main character.

I knew from listening to segments on different WoW podcasts that he can see about 1/8^th of the screen at any given time, and even that is blurry. “I try not to trick people or anything like that,” he said. “I quite simply identify as a blind person. It is a lot easier to explain blindness than it is to explain legal blindness.”

“A lot of people say ‘Oh hey, I’m legally blind when I don’t wear my glasses.’ Well…you haven’t been diagnosed by a doctor saying that you cannot see and need to use a white cane or use a guide dog.” Then he added, “Some married couples are like ‘Oh yeah, my partner’s deaf’ well no, that’s actually only when YOU are talking to them.” Yeah, Richard is always cracking jokes.

So, I asked him: How the hell do you raid if you can’t see?

“Addons!” he exclaimed with a little more enthusiasm than I thought appropriate. He was being sarcastic because he had answered this question hundreds of times.

“I use addons that use beeps and sounds and whatnot to kind of help me out.” He uses GTFO to stay out of the fire. Many WoW players know that Weak Auras allows you to visually make prompts for when things occur in game, but it also has auditory prompts, which helps Richard in particular. He has another addon that notifies him of when his health is low because “Dead DPS does no DPS.”

My raid awareness is actually quite possibly better than some people who can see” – Richard Harlow

Harlow said that without voice communication in Mumble—which is how this interview was conducted—it would be really hard for him to do much. He also pays close attention to the game. “Every Boss has its own sound file that you can memorize what it is associated with. You can memorize things that the boss does… except for Sindragosa. God, I have nightmares of that fight still from Wrath.”

“My raid awareness is actually quite possibly better than some people who can see because some people tunnel-vision, but with me I only have peripheral vision so it’s impossible for me to do that.”

Being a blind raider hasn’t stopped him from progressing in the game. When he is on his Warlock, even the best players will have trouble keeping up with him. One of his favorite moments was when he received his legendary staff during the Cataclysm expansion. He is particularly proud of this accomplishment because it required him to raid in the Firelands, which was all red with very little contrast.

Although WoW is known as being an accessible game, Blizzard recently took out the ability to use the “follow” command in PvP battlegrounds. That move was controversial among visually impaired players. I asked about it, and it turns out that it didn’t affect him at all. “I don’t /follow people,” he said. “If I’m PvPing with a small group of friends, I will maybe put an icon above their head so I can know that person is my buddy and I can easily glance at that person’s head and know I should follow him.”

Every Date is a Blind Date

Richard Harlow has used his disability as a subject for laughter as a standup comedian. I asked him if he had ever dreamed he would do something like this. “Nobody really has a dream for taking abuse in a public setting… When I grow up I wanna go on stage and have people heckling me,” he jokes.

Actually, he has had a positive reaction from the crowds. “With my standup comedy, I kind of use self-deprecating humor to talk about my disability and bring awareness to it in a way…At my last show I had a father come up to me and say that his daughter was blind and that my work is inspirational.” 

And then Tom Green got involved. In a video on his YouTube channel, comedian Tom Green interviews Harlow about his situation. He is trying to get word out about the fundraiser. Green and Harlow met after the blind raider/standup comedian won a contest to be able to open for him. Green said that after the show he didn’t even realize he was having beers across from a blind guy until he noticed the walking stick. Harlow told me that was pretty typical because he gets around pretty good. “There are tricks.” In a restaurant where he can’t read the menu, he will say, “Tell me what your special is!” and nobody will be the wiser.

Harlow’s online fundraiser ends on May 3rd. He is trying to raise $12,000 online and another $12,000 by holding events in his home of Nanaimo. You can find him on his Facebook page or @Richard_Harlow on Twitter. He hopes to go on tour someday and is available for comedic performances. And he’s a damn good Warlock.

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Killars reports that World First guild Exodus is dead

This does not come, perhaps, as a huge surprise to those who follow world first raid races closely, as the new merged version of Exodus and Vodka didn’t really compete in the race for World First, although their world 8th progression is, of course, impressive. Killars, a rogue from the guild, took to his Facebook page to put the rumors to rest with a lengthy post. Killars came from Vodka, the guild who took on current World First champions Method in the Dragon Soul race a while back. 

<Exodus> IS DEAD!?!

Yes, I’ll confirm the news here for anyone not in the loop or questioning the rumors. <Exodus> will no longer continue to function as a 25 man raiding guild. No plan to go 10 man as of yet, but that really doesn’t matter because 25 man is what the hardcore raiding scene really is about and Exodus will no longer be competing in such a scene.

Why? How? Well this game isn’t to blame. In the last few years this game (despite many people quitting and guilds dying) isn’t to blame for vodka/Exodus’ demise it’s the raiding community. I don’t mean this is a pointing the finger sort of way, it’s an inevitable sort of flaw in the competition of the top end raiders. You see… we’ve basically been killing ourselves off slowly since day 1. In the last few years we’ve certainly picked up the pace, but the “hardcore raider” is a dying breed and it’s certainly becoming a more difficult breed to be a part of. What I mean by this is of course the time commitment and the level of shear dedication and determination it takes and costs to be at the very top. This isn’t to poke fun, but to just shed light of why many people, and subsequently, many guilds will fall. Raiding for many many hours on end is fun, CAN be exciting, and at the end of it all can really prove who really wants that world first/us first/realm first the most. Unfortunately we (hardcore raiders) pushed too hard. Tier after tier we just keep adding to the insanity in both farming preparations and actual progressing. It’s almost as if progression itself never really ends after a end tier boss dies. Combine this with Blizzard actually putting new content out faster, alts playing a big role, PTR/BETA, dailys, coins, BMAH, well… you just get lost in it all. Right now there are a few legit world first guilds left. The competition is slim because the competition is literally eating each other (well not that literally). Good luck to everyone left in the race for this expact, but I don’t know how much longer this sort of thing can last.

Am I done? Is this my good bye post to the raiding community? No haha no my friends I’m way too stubborn and foolish to actually use my knowledge to stop myself from the enjoyment I get from WoW and the community. This is something I’ve talked about since around Firelands. I had a clear realization of how much more TIME fit in the equation of “how to be world first” and although it bothered me I still enjoyed it as I was one of the few that had that TIME. I’m simply reiterating what I’ve said many times as it is the elaborate explanation I can give to people now that my guild(s) have died and I want people to avoid pointing fingers at a particular person or a particular situation.

What’s next for Killars? I dunno… “LFR Troll Rogue ilvl 532″ I guess… I really don’t know (which is kinda scary) but we’ll see.

Question is, what do you think of this? It’s going to be interesting to see where these players go, as Method commented on their site. Will they form a 10-man team to give Paragon a run for their money in the smaller race size? Killars doesn’t seem keen to do this, but he’s just one of many players. And what do you think of his assertions on what is wrong with raiding? Has it become more a race of time than a race of skill?

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The latest set of patch 5.3 PTR notes have gutted the grind in Grindaria even more than the last set!

What exactly is going on here? For those of you who weren’t aware, the latest patch 5.3 PTR build dropped last night, and within the notes (which you can see below) the eagle eyed reader will have spotted the following:

• Experience needed to increase from level 85 to level 90 has been reduced by 33%.
• Players no longer need to have defeated Grand Empress Shek’zeer to enter the Terrace of Endless Spring in Normal difficulty.
• Reduced the number of Lesser Charms of Good Fortune needed for the Mogu Runes of Fate weekly quest to 50, down from 90.

Now let’s think back a few days to the previous build, where these changes were added.

• Shado-Pan and The August Celestials daily quests no longer have a faction prerequisite to be Revered with the Golden Lotus.
• A Test of Valor: Reduced the amount of Valor needed for this achievement to 3000 Valor Points, down from 6000.

It should also be noted that the Mogu Rune of Fate change was hotfixed into live servers just yesterday, today in the EU. Now, I don’t know about you, but here at Gamebreaker we’re noticing a trend in these patch notes. The grind is going away. What does it mean, though? Blizzard’s development team have always been focused on learning from their mistakes, and we’re beginning to wonder if they’re realizing that Mists of Grindaria was one of them. 

What’s your take on this? The playerbase, or at least a fairly vocal minority, certainly seemed to feel that there was too much grinding taking place, should these changes have been introduced earlier? Or are you on the opposing side, and think the original setup in Mists was just fine and dandy, in no need of a revamp? It could also be a further attempt to increase the alt-friendliness, by allowing for both faster leveling and easier gearing. What’s your take on it?

General
Experience needed to increase from level 85 to level 90 has been reduced by 33%.
Classes
Druid
General

• Tranquility now targets 12 raid members (up from 5) each time it heals when used in a 25-player instance. This change also applies to players using the Symbiosis version of Tranquility.

Restoration

• Ironbark now has a cooldown of 60 seconds, down from 2 minutes.
• Swiftmend’s area-of-effect component now heals injured allies within 10 yards, up from 8 yards.
• Wild Mushroom: Bloom: Healing from this spell has been increased by 100%, which includes all bonus healing from Rejuvenation overhealing. In addition, the radius has been increased to 10 yards (up from 8).

Item Sets

• Restoration PvP 4-piece set bonus now reduces the cooldown of Ironbark by 30 seconds (down from 90 seconds).

Hunter
General

• Revive Pet now has a cast time of 4 seconds, down from 6 seconds.

Monk
Mistweaver

• Revival now has a healing cap of 15 raid members (up from 6) when used in a 25-player instance.

Paladin
General

• Devotion Aura can now be used while the Paladin is silenced.

Glyphs

• Glyph of the Battle Healer now heals a nearby injured friendly target, excluding the Paladin, for 20% of damage dealt while Seal of Insight is active, down from 30%.

Priest
Glyphs

• Glyph of Smite no longer causes the additional 20% damage dealt by Smite to transfer into Atonement.

Discipline

• Atonement now heals nearby friendly targets for 90% of the damage dealt, down from 100%.
• Penance now deals 10% less damage, but healing done is increased by 10%.

Holy

• Divine Hymn now targets 12 raid members (up from 5) each time it heals when used in a 25-player instance.

Shadow

• Vampiric Embrace now has a healing cap of 15 raid members (up from 6) when used in a 25-player instance.

Warlock
General

• Demonic Gateway cast time has been reduced to 4 seconds, down from 5 seconds, gains its first charge after 5 seconds (down from 13 seconds), and gains a new charge every 10 seconds (down from 15 seconds). The summoned gateway has 100% of the summoning Warlock’s health, 100% of the Warlock’s resilience, and can now be attacked and killed by enemy players.

Item Sets

• Warlock PvP 2-piece set bonus no longer reduces cooldown on Unending Resolve and have been replaced by the former 4-piece set bonus where the Warlock’s Twilight Ward absorbs damage from all magical schools.
• Warlock PvP 4-piece set bonus now increases damage dealt by Agony, Corruption, Doom, Immolate, and Unstable Affliction by 10%.

Pet Battles
General

• Pandaren Spirit Pet Supplies now has a chance to drop a family specific rare Battle-Stone.

Battle Pet Quests

• A new achievement and reward has been added for characters that complete every Pet Battle daily quest in a single day.
• Protection for bad luck streaks have been added to Battle-Stones from pet supplies bags and wild battles. Each bag or battle that does not provide a stone has a progressively better chance to award a stone to the player.

Raids, Dungeons and Scenarios
Raids
Bonus Roll

• Reduced the number of Lesser Charms of Good Fortune needed for the Mogu Runes of Fate weekly quest to 50, down from 90.

Terrace of Endless Spring

• Players no longer need to have defeated Grand Empress Shek’zeer to enter the Terrace of Endless Spring in Normal difficulty.

Items

• Shado-Pan Assault belts now require Friendly reputation to purchase, down from Revered.
• Shado-Pan Assault chest pieces now require Honored reputation to purchase, down from Revered.
• The following PvP trinkets now have a cooldown of 2 minutes, down from 5 minutes.
  • Bequeathed Insignia of the Alliance
  • Bequeathed Insignia of the Horde
  • Inherited Insignia of the Alliance
  • Inherited Insignia of the Horde
  • Inherited Mark of Tyranny
  • Insignia of the Alliance
  • Insignia of the Horde
• The following trinkets have on-use effects reduced by 33%, but have a 100% increase to duration when used in a Battleground or Arena.
  • Fabled Feather of Ji-Kun
  • Renataki’s Soul Charm
  • Steadfast Talisman of the Shado-Pan Assault
  • Wushoolay’s Final Choice
• The following trinkets have on-use effects reduced by 75%, but have a 400% increase to duration when used in a Battleground or Arena.
  • Delicate Vial of the Sanguinaire
  • Gaze of the Twins
  • Primordius’ Talisman of Rage
  • Talisman of Bloodlust
• All other trinkets above ilevel 502 have on-use effects reduced by 50%, but have a 100% increase to duration when used in a Battleground or Arena.

The post Blizzard Gives Up On Grindaria appeared first on Gamebreaker.tv.

Blizzcon tickets go on sale tomorrow, Wednesday April 24 at 7pm PDT, then again Saturday April 27 at 10am PDT

There are also tickets available at 7pm PDT on Wednesday May 1 for an exclusive pre-BlizzCon dinner to benefit Children’s Hospital of Orange County, which will include Blizzcon tickets within the sale price. So what do you need to know to get your Blizzcon tickets? There’s a large number of things you need to have in place to do it before the actual time, and Gamebreaker has some top tips of our own.

• Get a Battle.net account. You probably have one of these, but if you don’t that would be step 1!
• Add a payment method to your account. You’ll need to do this before the day, and having a backup method or two in place is no bad thing. Also, if you’ve had your battle.net account all set up for a while, check that your payment methods are up to date.
• Blizzard also recommends that you contact your bank and let them know you’ll be buying Blizzcon tickets, so that they don’t assume the $175 payment to someone you usually give $14.99 a month is fraudulent and block it.
• Set up your cookies! If your browser is not set up to allow and automatically refresh cookies, you will be unable to move forward in the queue for tickets and may even lose your place within it. Also make sure that Javascript is enabled, and shut off any adblockers.
• While you’re actually buying tickets, keep your browser window open so you don’t lose your place in the queue. 
• If you’re buying tickets for family or friends, have their names handy (to be printed on each badge), as well as each attendee’s Battle.net account name (email address) so they can participate in this year’s pre-BlizzCon online merchandise pre-sale. You’ll have until May 14 to enter or change this information.
• Keep an eye on your email! A confirmation will be sent there, if it doesn’t show up you’ll need to go back to the store to confirm it.

And, on top of all that, there are several things you can do to make sure you’re in the best possible position to get your hands on some tickets…

• Ensure you have commandeered every single available computer in your house that can be connected to the internet. Ask neighbours, friends or co-workers, too. If you’re in an office during the sales window, kudos, make the most of it.
• Get people. People have fingers, fingers can push F5 repeatedly. Doing that is the key to getting Blizzcon tickets. They sell out ridiculously quickly.
• Hand exercises are a vital step to avoiding crippling F5 related injury. 
• If you can’t get people, try cats. Place laser pointers above your keyboard, pointing at the F5 key. 
• If you can’t get cats, try a drinking bird toy. Dogs are probably not patient enough. 
• If your neighbours have internet too, ask to borrow it. The tickets will be sold out in moments anyhow, so it won’t be for long. 
• Make sure you don’t need to leave your desk for anything at that time. Not even a pizza. Not even the arrival of your first-born child. These are Blizzcon tickets, people! 
• Ensure your electricity supply is stable. Maybe consider a backup generator. Or see if your PC can run off your car battery like something from Pimp My RIde.
• Go on Pimp My RIde. Get a computer with internet and an automatic F5 pressing system.

And good luck! We’ll see you there. 

The post Blizzcon Tickets: Are You Prepared? appeared first on Gamebreaker.tv.