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Originally Posted
By Blizzard Entertainment.
Q: How will one get
to the continent of Pandaria?
A: Players will get to Pandaria via new
quests from Orgrimmar and Stormwind. We have tried to make these
quests short and sweet to make sure players can into the new
continent as fast as possible.
Q: Any plans to fix pet stats being too low for a few seconds after
spawning?
A: We are fixing pets so stats won't
lag several seconds after logging in or dismounting in 5.0.
Q: Currently, it was announced that Monks might not have an
auto-attack feature. With the lack of auto-attacks, are there plans
on balancing the values for Hit Rating and Haste Rating for a
DPS-spec'ed Monk, since one would only need to reach the "soft" hit
cap (8%) for specials and Haste Rating will only be affecting their
power regeneration and reducing their GCD?
A: Monks will have the same hit cap as
e.g. an Arms warrior and their energy regen drives everything they
do, so their regen will scale the same as rogues and haste in
general will scale their damage by the same percentages.
Q: At Blizzcon Tom Chilton mentioned possible incentives for raiding
enemy towns to encourage world PVP in mists, can Greg or Cory
elaborate on this at all?
A: In regards to extra rewards for
world pvp, we are contemplating the idea of increasing players
conquest point caps by an extra 10-15%.
Q: With the new talent system, will you start to follow the model in
place with Collosus Smash, where a move functions completely
differently in PVE and PVP?
A: We don't have a problem with
specific mechanics working differently in PvP and PvE. Curse of Doom
worked that way for years. Same with PvP durations on debuffs. What
we don't want to do is just launch into having different
coefficients and talents and everything for PvP and PvE. That just
doubles the size of the game which makes it more complex to balance
and harder for players to understand.
Q: Currently in 4.2 as a Balance Druid I have to kill critters
before every boss fight so that I start in Solar Eclipse. Is there
going to be more critters in MoP or even better, a cooldown that
puts us straight into an eclipse?
A: We don't think the answer is more
critter spawning in instances. We don't have a specific solution
we're ready to announce, but we plan to address the problem.
Q: Where do we level from 85 to 90?
A: You'll leveling on the new continent
of Pandaria, of course!
Q: Hey there. Will Pandaria have a new Dalaran like city or will we
be using the ones already existing ingame?
A: We will have separate player hubs
for both the Horde and Alliance on Pandaria. Separate hubs means we
do not have to make them sanctuary and will encourage world PVP.
These hubs will have access to an AH, Bank and general vendors.
Valor, conquest, profession and faction vendors will be scattered
around the world to encourage travel.
Q: Will there be more guild levels in MoP, if so how far will the
cap go and do you have any examples of new perks?
A: We will be adding new levels to the
guild leveling system for Mists of Pandaria. These new levels will
come with new perks too! An example of a couple perks we are
thinking about are reduced cost on void storage and
transmogrification.
Q: Are you still considering expanding the proposed talent system or
is the general form already set? As in, is there still the
possibility of get more choice from the new system? (Six overall
specializing skills seems quite limiting)
A: We tried a lot of tiers. We were
worried at more than 6 that the combinatorial complexity of >729
different variations of talents would be challenging to balance or
for players to even comprehend. We want to focus on having fewer
awesome talents than many tiers that will force us to dilute
individual abilities in the name of balance (for example, if you
ended up with 6 forms of crowd control, then all of them need to be
pretty weak).
Q: Where exactly is Pandaria located on Azeroth? many speculate that
it is in the south, but I have always assumed it was to the west of
Kalimdor.
A: Pandaria is located on the south
side of Azeroth. Think the exact opposite of Northrend. Come to
think of it, we should have named it Southrend.
Q: Since we're getting an account wide "pet library" so to speak, do
you have any plans to extend this functionality to the mount page?
Many players are hanging onto exclusive mounts on older/unplayed
characters.
A: We will be testing out account wide
features with pet battles and if it proves successful there, we
would certainly want to the same thing with mounts.
Q: Often as an enhancement shaman, I find that weapon drops,
specifically agility one handers, are always rare or not made to be
slow (I know slow daggers seem pretty odd, but stay with me here).
Is there any chance we would be able to reforge swing speeds?
A: We don't want minute differences in
weapon speed to have a non-obvious, massive effect. We like daggers
being fast and other weapons being slow and will make shaman etc.
mechanics work around that.
Q: During the first discussion on talents, you revealed that Druids
would be receiving a fourth talent tree to differentiate between
bears and cats. I think this has been mostly received as a positive
change by the community. You also stated that the notion of a hybrid
tax is an antiquated view on class structure. Are there any plans to
provide unique buffs to the four pure DPS classes to compensate for
their lack of diversity, or maybe, creating a 4th spec in their
areas that would allow for another role, such as a tanking Warlock?
A: We don't want to have unique buffs
per DPS spec within a class, but we do want to make sure the DPS
specs do offer utility that the tanks and healers can't bring alone.
We also want to have greater variety and richness among specs for
those classes with multiple DPS specs (e.g. hunter, warrior). We
definitely want for there to be a reason to bring pures to a group
as well.
Q: In regards to the Challenge Mode dungeons, how many of the
dungeons will offer these modes and will our entire level/stats be
reduced to a level equal to lower level dungeons if applicable?
A: We are hoping to have challenge mode
dungeons enabled for all 9 of the new Mists of Pandaria dungeons.
Assuming we like how it pans out, we would certainly be excited to
extend the feature to more classic dungeons or raids.
Q: With shadow orbs becoming a new resource, do you have any plans
to improve the interface to make tracking shadows orbs easier, like
what was done with paladins?
A: If you saw the way we handled the
monk resource bar at Blizzcon, we are experimenting with doing that
for various classes and specs who have resources like that. So we
could move shadow orbs down in the middle of the screen for Shadow
priests if that paradigm works out.
Q: Will you consider giving glyphs the same treatment as the talent
trees? Glyphs are also somewhat cookie cutter, as passive damage
increases are not fun and are mandatory for any player wishing to
compete
A: We aren't happy at all with Prime
glyphs because they are no-brainers (but often mathy to figure that
out). We want to expand the Major glyphs because that is where the
real decisions lie. Not sure of the future of Primes quite yet. They
*might* go away. (Don't freak, scribes!)
Q: With MoP you're introducing the pet battles. Will that be a new
way of earning XP and/or valor points ?
A: We are hoping to implement XP gain
for pet battles in a similar way to what players see with gathering
professions now. You would not want to level your entire character
just on pet battles, but we do think you should be rewarded for
participating in it.
Q: So with the removal of talent points it seems like players
leveling lose their "awesome I just got zealotry" feeling. Though
the new talent system seems interesting and unique the gap between
each 15 levels makes a dullish feeling in between each gap. Any word
on how this will play out?
A: Couple of points. With Ret
specifically, we wanted to try and address some of the feedback from
players about the rotation. Divine Purpose and Zealotry add too much
complication or RNG for some players, which is why we think they
make good optional mechanics. Overall, when you see the rate at
which you get new spells, you are still rewarded about every other
character level (much like today). There are just a lot of core or
spec spells that used to be no-brainer talents.
Q: I think I read somewhere that resilience is becoming a base stat
in MoP -- if this is the case, what does that mean for PvP gear
and/or does this mean that end game guilds will be top in PvP.
A: Resilience will still be an
important stat for competitive PvP. Likewise, PvE gear will still be
the best gear for PvE. The hope is to lower the barrier of entry by
making the gap smaller (but not trivial).
Q: One of the current issues discouraging World pvp is the presence
of highly overpowered guards around cities and hubs, 1-shotting
anyone who engages in PvP. How will this be in MoP?
A: We know this is an issue in the
current game and we plan to address it in Mists. We want to
encourage world PVP, not make it a one-shot game for NPC guards.
This is one of the main reasons we decided to make two separate
player hubs instead of a shared sanctuary.
Q: Will pet battles be created the same way as duels?
A: We will let players duel other
players that are near them in the world, but we will also have a
queuing system you can join to fight against other pet trainers of
similar level.
Q: I see two new poisons given to rogues in the new talent system,
does this indicate we'll be seeing poisons reworked for MoP? As it
is the Assassination spec relies so heavily on the instant/deadly
combo for damage it's not viable to use anything else.
A: We are reworking poisons. For
starters, rogue damage is balanced around the expectation of two
damage poisons, which makes it really brutal to use a utility
poision instead. In MoP, you will have one damage poison and one
utility poison so you can choose which utility poison to use (and
not IF you want a utility poison). We also want to reduce the amount
of ramping that rogue DPS requires, such as removing the need for
Deadly Poison to stack. (And likewise we want to make Bandit's Guile
less punitive when swapping targets.)
Q: Will the pandarian racial that benefits XP bonus give them twice
the blue bar for the same amount rested, or will it give you a
larger multiplier when receiving XP?
A: Their blue bar (rested XP) will last
longer before running out.
Q: The island of Pandaria is set to be located on the back of a
giant turtle, will this turtle go under water?
A: The starting zone for new Pandaren
is located on The Wandering Isle (the turtle). The continent of
Pandaria itself is not a turtle, its a piece of land.
Q: Is there any chance of a new spell for paladins to fill the role
of Holy Wrath for single target fights?
A: Holy Wrath becomes a nuke for Holy.
Ret and Prot will generate Holy Power from Judgment, Exorcism procs,
Hammer of Wrath and other abilities that make sense. We still want
there to be some small gaps in rhe rotation, but smooth over some of
the frustration of today.
Q: How does the new death knight talent Asphyxiate work at this
point? Does it last until the target takes damage, like Repentance
or Hex, or is it channeled like the succubus minion's Seduction?
A: Asphyxiate lasts 5 sec. There was a
typo in the Blizzcon presentation. Asphyxiate is the same duration
as Strangulate, which it replaces.
Q: What's going to happen to the currently existing Relics once the
MoP arrives? will they be turned into gold/grey
trash/off-hands/trinkets?
A: Relics will turn into gray items
that you can vendor.
Q: My questions concerns the limits to Pandaren faction chat. How do
you intend to deal with if you meet someone at the starting pandaren
area and friend each other (not RealID) yet choose seperate
factions?
A: Much like the worgen and goblins
cannot leave their starting areas, you cannot friend a fellow
pandaren until she has chosen her faction.
Q: At Blizzcon you stated that mage's primary nukes will be spec
specific ( Fireball for Fire, Arcane Blast for Arcane, and Frostbolt
for Frost). However, what will happen to Frostfire bolt? Currently
it is only used by Frost Mages and only when a talent procs. Is this
spell going to be reworked or simply removed from the game?
A: Frostfire Bolt is the starting spell
at level 1. You get Frostbolt, Fireball or Arcane Blast at level 10.
Fire or Arcane can still use Frostfire if they want a snare, or when
Brain Freeze procs for Frost.
Q: I have a question about dungeons... many people have complained
that there were not very many dungeons this expansion (compared to
the number of dungeons in 1-60 Azeroth, Outland, and even Northrend).
In Cataclysm endgame, there were very few normal dungeons for a
casual player to easily PuG, and the rest are perhaps a dozen or so
heroics (which do get boring after doing the same ones over and
over!). Do you plan to have more dungeons come MoP? Will there be
more choices for both regular AND heroic versions to have a little
something for everyone?
A: We will have 9 normal mode dungeons
at launch for Mists of Pandaria. 6 of those will be on Pandaria and
3 will be classic heroics (Scholomance and Scarlet Monastery). All
of these dungeons will have a normal, heroic and challenge mode
version. We are currently planning to not have any max level,
non-heroic dungeons. Most players never found a good niche for
dungeons at that tuning level.
Q: With MoP featuring the battle between the alliance and the horde,
can we expect to see more prominent roles or appearances from famous
NPCs?
A: Yes, we certainly are.
Q: Is drain life ,death coil and soul harvest being removed since
there are similar talents in it's place?
A: Harvest of Life upgrades Drain Life
(Drain Life turns into Harvest, which is a mechanic we use for
several spells such as Strangulate -> Asphyxiate and HoJ -> Fist of
Justice). Soul Harvest is being removed, but shards passively regen
outside of combat or can Drain Soul in combat to replace them.
Mortal Coil is the new Death Coil.
Q: Will there be a system where you can turn pet battles on/off at
will? Sometimes I don't want to be pestered by obnoxious pet owners
that constantly want to duel. Or perhaps I don't want to get a
random encountet while trying to get anywhere. Anyways, will there
be an option to switch pet battles off temporarily?
A: We will have an option to disable
invites to pet battles. Similar to what we have for player duels.
Q: The new Cold Snap talent resets Ice Block, Frost Nova, and Water
Elemental. I realize that the talents are early, but given that the
first two are baseline, might this mean that the Elemental (like
Living Bomb) is becoming a core mage spell?
A: Water Elemental is a Frost spec
spell.
Q: How does the new warlock talent that allows you to move while
casting, but doubles cast time affect channeled spells?
A: Channeled spells take twice as long
to tick after you have started moving with that talent.
Q: One of the issues with the Outland expansion was that it felt too
'off-worldly'. Northrend resolved this a bit by actually taking
place -on- Azeroth, and Cataclysm brought back that wholesome
Azerothian nostalgia. How does Pandaria handle this issue,
considering how foreign the land (and indeed, the entire Pandaren
lore) is to the world? When you're playtesting MoP, how do -you-
feel about the land?
A: We are actually working very hard on
this specific concept. Pandaria is based on Asian landscapes but its
important to remember that these landscapes need to feel like they
fit in Azeroth, not the real world. So far, we feel really great
about how we are doing on this. Hopefully that was clear to players
at BlizzCon as well!
Q: What place will the World Bosses have in the scheme of raid
difficulty and the item level of gear they drop? Will they be a
mandatory part of the raiding cycle?
A: We want the world bosses to be
optional, kind of like Baradin Hold.
Q: Are we going to require items to change talents like changing the
glyphs?
A: Yes. Our goal (which is more
important than the mechanism) is that we don't want swapping talents
to be a huge pain, but don't want it to be so easy that making the
choice isn't interesting. We don't want players to feel the need to
swap talents in 5-player dungeons or for every trash pull in a raid.
Q: How big are the MoP areas going to be in comparison to say
Outlands or Northrend?
A: The zones themselves are quite
large, even bigger when you take into consideration that you will
not be able to use your flying mount until level 90. If I was to
guess, I would say you could imagine the entire continent feeling
like all 5 of the Cataclysm 80-85 zones combined.
Q: Will their be any raid size PvE scenarios?
A: One step at a time, grasshopper. ;D
Q: Will there be a way for pandaran to switch factions (once) after
they choose alliance/horde? Can they defect?
A: We are currently planning for this
to be a permanent choice.
Q: I play Enhance - with 4.3 the cooldown for Wind Shear is going to
26 seconds untalented, with Talents back to 5 Seconds, when MoP
comes out those talents are gone. Are there plans to give the 5
second Wind Shear to Enhance as a base skill, or can I kiss my
reputation as my Guild's top interrupter goodbye?
A: We want Enhance to still have a
frequent interrupt that locks out for less time than other
interrupts. However, overall we want to reduce the frequency of
interrupts and increase their duration so that when you use them is
more of a decision. We want them to be more impactful for both the
interrupter and target rather than a spammy nuisance.
Q: Any plans to rework the crowd control system? Currently fear is
not a reliable form of CC unless a glyph is used so they won't move
others, like warriors have no real CC at all. Speaking of which, how
much CC will be needed in the new dungeons?
A: We're currently exploring ways for
Fear to behave more consistently without the glyph, but don't have a
precise answer yet.
Q: Regarding the talent trees, will there be trees as we know them
at all? I like the way you guys are moving with talents, but I
wasn't sure if combat/assassination/subtlety would exist anymore at
all? Using a rogue as an example, will all three trees be merged
into 'Rogue' now? It's hard to tell from the examples given.
A: Specs as you know them will still
exist. At level 10 you can choose Assassination and get Mutilate. We
want the specs (especially for the pure classes) to be more distinct
than they are today since some of the signature utility is now
available to all members of that class. Specs will contain core
rotational mechanics and the tools needed to perform your role.
Talents complement that with various forms of utility.
Q: I don't like PvP, I play on a PvP server, because my friends on a
PvP server and most people from my country is playing on that
particular server. I have to face world PvP every time I am doing my
business in the new hubs in Pandaria? I love the new zone, but I
don't want to be backstabbed by a rogue while I am selling my stuff,
or buying equipment. Can non-interested players avoid the world PvP
A: Yes, we certainly don't want you to
always be back-stabbed while you are setting up your auctions.
However, if a group of the opposing faction wants to form a raid and
attack your city, we want them to have a chance to be successful. So
yes and no. =)
Q: There seemed to be a bit of a backlash at BlizzCon against the
idea of counters in the Pet Battle System. An example would be a
water-based pet (Murloc) vs. a fire-based pet (Lil' Ragnaros). This
makes the fighting seem a bit more intricate, but I can understand
the desire to have Pet Battles be easier to approach. Is there any
thought to more than one skill level?
A: We intend to create a simple combat
system with some engaging depth. We're still in the process hashing
out the details. Suggestions are certainly welcome!
Q: So far everything I have heard about the expansion sounds too
good to be true! I was wondering however - I had heard that Cooking
will become a primary skill, but others say I have misheard/read
this. But wouldn't it make the Pandaren racial moot if that were the
case? Can you clarify?
A: Cooking will remain a secondary
skill. We do have some cool stuff planned to match the Pandaren love
of cooking. For example, you can choose to specialize in different
styles of cooking. For example, grilling may create Strength food.
You can choose the specialization that makes the most sense for your
character and still unlock feasts at the end, or you can try and
learn all specializations.
Q: What will be the new cap for professions? Do you plan to create
any new professions?
A: The new cap for professions is 600
and we are currently not planning to add a new profession. We are
hoping that pet battles will offer a fun, new type of activity for
players to do that offers an alternative to player power
progression.
Q: Will there be any grasshoppers?
A: Yes! It actually just got checked
into the game by the artists today! Going to be awesome to use in
pet battles!
Q: Do you plan on making talent options for each class spec or only
1 set per class. In the preview it seemed that each tier
complimented a specific spec rather the class. Also if you believe
that talents should be fun choices why put damage dealing spells in
the talent options rather then make them only things that increase
movement speed, change rotation (ie makes 1 spell faster to
cast),.This new system will not kill off cookie cutter builds if
things people view as optional are mixed in with abilities. Make
abilities base line with spec/leveling and make talents optional
increases in power not through damage like the disc priest talent
soul warding or rogues improved slice and dice....they both
increases possible damage without a direct damage increase. Any
comments?
A: The damage-dealing talents aren't
core rotational abilities, but situational or utility abilities.
When there is a damage option, it should compete against other
damage options. The idea is to get away from cookie cutter builds.
We don't think there is always a right answer for whether you'd
choose to run for longer or more often. Even today, guides will say
"choose what you want" for those options. Some talents will probably
be better situationally (if the boss can't be interrupted, then your
interrupt talent isn't so sexy for that fight), but every e.g.
shaman should not have the same talent set at the same time, or our
design has failed.
Q: What will happen to passive abilities like trueshot aura, arcane
tactics, improved icy talons and unleashed rage? Where will they go
in the new talent system?
A: Many of those become passive
abilities you get for your spec. We are removing some of the less
interesting buffs and debuffs (+bleed damage, armor, 3% damage,
resists are all on the chopping block at the moment).
Q: At Blizzcon it was mentioned that PvE Scenarios will be something
that we will queue for...Will we be required to be in the area that
the PvE Scenario will take place in order to queue, or will we be
able to queue for them from the cities like we do for the Dungeon
Finder. If they are instanced events how will this "get the players
out into the world" other than standing around a specific area
waiting for the queue to pop, or am I missing the idea?
A: We are planning to only let players
queue for scenarios from specific spots in the world (where the
scenario is located), not in the cities. We want players out in the
world, not spamming the queue button in cities.
Q: Is there any chance we'll be seeing more weapons with procs?
Something akin to thunderfury, sulfuras, or even the Revenge of
Kalimdor?
A: Yes, proc weapons are fun. There are
several in the 4.3 raid. We will add more.
Q: What will the pandas ride? non anthropomorphic pandas?
A: We are still working on ideas for
their mount. An epic turtle is certainly one of the most popular
options around the office right now!
Q: At Blizzcon you said that demolocks will create demonic fury and
turn into a demon when it is maxed out. will this be automatically
or will we be able to choose when we use our full demonic fury?
A: You have control over when you
transform. The amount of Demonic Fury you have determines the
duration of the Metamorphosis.
Q: Can other people watch the pets battle?
A: We are working really, really hard
to have spectating for the pet battles. Trust me, we want it just as
bad as you guys. Stay tuned.
Q: With the world PvP that is being talked about, are there any
plans to add any Quest Hubs in Mists of Pandaria which functions
like a smaller scale of Baradin Hold/Wintergrasp that will change
faction when it is assaulted? Maybe even ones with actual leveling
quests instead of just more dailies to add a dynamic questing
experience like the ones that were talked about at Blizzcon?
A: Yes, this is exactly the kind of
thing we are thinking about. We will share more info on our ideas
for this soon. The idea is that we want to give players more options
and not just always have one place to go or one thing to do.
Q: What exactly is a PvE scenario?
A: It's a short, instanced 2-3 player
experience without the need for a tank/healer. Think of them as a
short series of group quests with a queuing option available.
Q: It's clear from the consideration and thought you give your
answers that you all have a deep understanding of the theory behind
MMOs. Is this all knowledge learned on-the-job, or did you have any
guidance such as school or peers when making these design decisions?
A: There isn't a lot of formal training
that goes into it (though that seems to be improving over time). A
lot of it is playing a lot of games, but it helps to have a bunch of
really smart dudes on the WoW team (and throughout the company) who
can poke holes in what you were certain is a brilliant idea. The
guys behind the scenes don't get enough credit for the success of
our games.
Q: Will there be any new underwater zones in MoP? I personally loved
Vashj' and would hope that there's at least some mini-zone in the
starting area or something.
A: Nope, we are not making another
Vashj'ir. Glad you liked it though! =)
Q: I'm in a high end raiding guild and if the racials for Panderan
stay as is, we are almost all going to have to race change. Do you
plan to have the Panderan racials (specifically the double food
buff) nearly balanced with the other races on release or do you want
them to be the best to start with so more people play them?
A: The food buff is the equivalent of
racials like the haste or crit buffs of the goblin and worgen. We
are still evaluating the power of our primary vs. secondary stats.
Primary stats (Agi etc.) are a bit good right now, but that also
helps ensure that new tiers of gear are nearly always upgrades.
Q: Will Arms Warriors do an equal amount of damage when using
Bladestorm (lvl 90 talent) as Fury warriors, who have double weapons
over arms?
A: We don't want there to be obvious
talent decisions. We can make Bladestorm do more damage with two
weapons or let Arms do more damage to keep Arms vs. Fury equivalent.
Q: When do we except this x-pack to come out? (hopefully not late
2012)
A: Based on what we showed at Blizzcon,
hopefully sooner rather than later. =)
Q: Just have to say Blizzard are doing a wicked job with this
expansion. It is very hard to hype up an expansion without some epic
badass villain. The idea of the raging war between the two factions
and the Pandaren being stuck in the middle (somehow trying to find
peace?) looks to be so cleverly laid out. So very well done for
that. New talent system is one of your best ideas yet. Just one
question. How will the story be planned out with no villain, will
there be a consecutive story eg every patch will release a raid
focusing onto the main raid in the last patch. Or will every patch
be unique in terms of story?
A: There are definitely villains in
Mists of Pandaria. We just didn't want to put one on the "box cover"
so to speak (we don't know what the box looks like yet of course).
You have seen some of them, like the mogu. We know who the final
boss is. Seriously. It's just too epic to share. Yet. |
