Tier-10 Tank Armor Changes
Quote from: Zarhym (Source)
We recognize that many plate tanks are making their gear choices based on the amount of armor they’re provided, as this is currently the most preferred stat. In order to make the tier-10 plate tanking sets more desirable, we will be adjusting the stats on the gloves and chest pieces in order to inflate the amount of armor they provide in the next minor patch. This will apply to all item levels of the tier-10 death knight, warrior, and paladin tanking gloves and chest pieces.

Similar items crafted or purchased with Emblems of Frost will continue to be very good and will compare favorably to all but the Heroic difficulty boss loot, so you shouldn't despair if you recently acquired any of those.

--

Here are examples of how the set pieces will be changing in the next minor patch:

Current Warrior Tier-10 Pieces (item level 251)
Ymirjar Lord's Handguards
1579 Armor
+81 Strength
+148 Stamina
Yellow Socket
Socket Bonus: +6 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 71.
Equip: Increases your dodge rating by 63.
Equip: Improves hit rating by 54.
Ymirjar Lord's Breastplate
2526 Armor
+144 Strength
+191 Stamina
Red Socket
Blue Socket
Socket Bonus: +9 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 76.
Equip: Increases your dodge rating by 68.
Equip: Increases your parry rating by 68.
Updated Warrior Tier-10 Pieces (item level 251)
Ymirjar Lord's Handguards
2461 Armor
+81 Strength
+148 Stamina
Yellow Socket
Socket Bonus: +6 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 71.
Equip: Improves hit rating by 54.
Ymirjar Lord's Breastplate
3590 Armor
+144 Strength
+191 Stamina
Red Socket
Blue Socket
Socket Bonus: +9 Stamina
Equip: Increases your dodge rating by 60.
Equip: Increases your parry rating by 76.
Current Death Knight Tier-10 Pieces (item level 251)
Scourgelord Handguards
1579 Armor
+81 Strength
+148 Stamina
Yellow Socket
Socket Bonus: +6 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 71.
Equip: Increases your dodge rating by 63.
Equip: Improves hit rating by 54.
Scourgelord Chestguard
2526 Armor
+144 Strength
+191 Stamina
Red Socket
Blue Socket
Socket Bonus: +6 Strength
Equip: Increases defense rating by 60.
Equip: Increases your dodge rating by 76.
Equip: Increases your parry rating by 76.
Updated Death Knight Tier-10 Pieces (item level 251)
Scourgelord Handguards
2461 Armor
+81 Strength
+148 Stamina
Yellow Socket
Socket Bonus: +6 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 71.
Equip: Improves hit rating by 54.
Scourgelord Chestguard
3590 Armor
+144 Strength
+191 Stamina
Red Socket
Blue Socket
Socket Bonus: +6 Strength
Equip: Increases your dodge rating by 60.
Equip: Increases your parry rating by 76.
Current Paladin Tier-10 Pieces (item level 251)
Lightsworn Handguards
1579 Armor
+81 Strength
+148 Stamina
Yellow Socket
Socket Bonus: +6 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 71.
Equip: Increases your dodge rating by 63.
Equip: Improves hit rating by 54.
Lightsworn Chestguard
2526 Armor
+144 Strength
+191 Stamina
Red Socket
Blue Socket
Socket Bonus: +9 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 76.
Equip: Increases your dodge rating by 60.
Equip: Increases your parry rating by 76.
Updated Paladin Tier-10 Pieces (item level 251)
Lightsworn Handguards
2461 Armor
+81 Strength
+148 Stamina
Yellow Socket
Socket Bonus: +6 Stamina
Equip: Increases defense rating by 71.
Equip: Improves hit rating by 54.
Lightsworn Chestguard
3590 Armor
+144 Strength
+191 Stamina
Red Socket
Blue Socket
Socket Bonus: +9 Stamina
Equip: Increases your dodge rating by 60.
Equip: Increases your parry rating by 76.




Stats on the Ashen Verdict Strength ring
Quote from: Zarhym (Source)

Requires The Ashen Verdict - Friendly
Ashen Band of Might
+91 Strength
+91 Stamina
Equip: Improves critical strike rating by 53.
Equip: Improves hit rating by 53.
Requires The Ashen Verdict - Honored
Ashen Band of Greater Might
+98 Strength
+98 Stamina
Equip: Improves critical strike rating by 57.
Equip: Improves hit rating by 57.
Requires The Ashen Verdict - Revered
Ashen Band of Unmatched Might
+98 Strength
+98 Stamina
Equip: Improves critical strike rating by 57.
Equip: Improves hit rating by 57.
Equip: Chance on hit to increase your attack power by 480 for 10 sec.
Requires The Ashen Verdict - Exalted
Ashen Band of Endless Might
+99 Strength
+107 Stamina
Yellow Socket
Socket Bonus: +4 Strength
Equip: Improves critical strike rating by 59.
Equip: Improves hit rating by 59.
Equip: Chance on hit to increase your attack power by 480 for 10 sec.




Europe - PvP to PvE Realm Conversion: Vek’nilash
Quote from: Wryxian (Source)
As part of our continued efforts to balance the World of Warcraft player population across all realms, we will be converting one of our lower-population European PvP realms -- Vek’nilash -- to a Normal PvE realm. For players on Vek’nilash, we will be offering free Character Moves to alternate PvP realms both before and after the conversion takes place. This will allow us to continue to support healthy communities on the realms and help new players transition easily into the community.

The conversion will take place on February 10, with the Character Moves opening on January 27 and lasting until March 10. Upon being converted to Normal PvE, Vek’nilash will be given the “New Players” flag to ensure an influx of players over the coming weeks.

For any questions, please refer to the main thread in the Vek'nilash realm forum:
http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread....04662580&sid=1




Blue posts
Quote from Blizzard staff
Reasons behind Season 8 delay
Because information in the next minor content patch is needed to start it and the patch is not out yet. (Source)

Quel'delar for tanks
We talked about this back when the quest was available on the PTR, but in short, we are not adding a tanking specific weapon to the rewards table for this quest. We did not forget tanks, we just weren't aiming the rewards at them. (Source)

Threat issues in the first seconds of a fight
This is something we talk a lot about. On the one hand, good healers know not to overdo it in the first few seconds because the tank is unlikely to die anyway. On the other, it's a bit awkward that threat issues are exponentially more dangerous in the first few seconds than in those that follow. (Source)

Balancing classes in Wrath of the Lich King
Yes. We have made a few mistakes in the 3.X patch cycle where we over-buffed or over-nerfed a spec. Aside from the risk that we'll have to revert some of the changes, it just sucks when say all hunters felt like they had to go Survival or all mages felt like they had to go Arcane. Ideally your spec would be a choice, but we feel like the second best scenario is to not keep changing which spec is on top (especially when that requires you to re-gear, etc.).

Players also tend to have different expectations for dps than we do. It's typical now for anyone who doesn't see their dps at 10,000 (or to see simulation output that suggests 10,000) to assume that something is wrong with their class. (Source)

[...] We believe you can't just balance around the best players. It's possible for a class to be too good among less-skilled players (perhaps because it is easy to play) or too good among highly-skilled players (perhaps because only they can get the full benefit out of it). You need to look at players at a variety of skill levels.

You also have to be very careful trying to correlate population with power. I'm sure there is a correlation, but it might not be a very strong one, at least in PvE. It is probably more true of PvP. In PvE, a lot of other factors can influence population. Most new players to WoW have a pretty good idea of what a warrior or mage is, but may not understand the mechanics or role of a shaman or warlock. Some players just gravitate towards certain mechanics and find others bland or frustrating. Players can make life-long decisions about their class based on things as non-power-gamery as art or possible races.

Where we tend to take notice is if something is really far out of whack. If players are abandoning a class or flocking to a new one, then there might be something going on. If particular classes or specs seem to fall behind in raid representation over time, it's usually in ou...




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