Blizzard is finally deploying a bunch of hotfixes for the Dungeon Finder! Also, if you missed the post a few hours ago, don't forget to check the Incoming Healer Changes!

Dungeon Finder/Vote Kick Hotfixes

Originally Posted by Bashiok (Source)
We’re making a number of hotfixes to address use of the Dungeon Finder and vote kick tools. The following hotfixes will require realm restarts to implement, which are likely to be next Tuesday’s weekly maintenance.


  • Players who are outside a dungeon for more than a few minutes are now immediately able to be kicked.
  • If queuing as a group with a tank or healer, and the tank or healer drops group (or is kicked) soon after joining, those that queued with them will also be removed from the dungeon.
  • If three or more players group queue with each other it will require an additional vote for them to kick anyone they did not group queue with.
  • If a group queue of 4 kicks the one person that they did not group queue with they will each receive a more severe penalty to their ability to initiate future kicks.
  • If someone initiates a vote kick for someone they group queued with they will not incur a penalty to their ability to initiate future kicks.


With these changes we hope to reduce some undesirable behavior and annoyances, and encourage greater patience when using the Dungeon Finder. In addition, keep in mind that both initiating and agreeing to vote kick have always carried the same weight to your ability to kick in the future. It's always best to save your votes for when it really counts to ensure your ability to kick is available when it does.

We’ll of course be watching how these changes work to improve these systems, and always appreciate your feedback.

As these and other hotfixes are implemented, they'll be added to the hotfix blog - http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/2259389#blog




Patch 4.0.6 Hotfixes - February 16

Originally Posted by Blizzard (Source)
Here you'll find a list of hotfixes that address various issues related to the recently released World of Warcraft: Cataclysm patch 4.0.6. Hotfixes are updates we make on our end without requiring you to download a new patch. Some of the hotfixes below will go live the moment they are implemented, while others may require your realm to be restarted to go into effect. Please keep in mind that some issues cannot be addressed without a client-side patch update. We will continue to update this thread in the days ahead as additional hotfixes are applied. Visit our Bug Report forum for a list of 4.0.6 known issues.

February 16
Druid (Forums / Cataclysm Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • It is no longer possible for Skull Bash (Bear) to hit two targets at a time. A macro was previously circumventing the intended functionality of this ability.


Shaman (Forums / Cataclysm Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • Purification (Restoration passive) now grants a 25% bonus to healing effects, up from 10%. More information can be found here.


Priest (Forums / Cataclysm Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
  • In addition to its current effects, the Body and Soul talent now grants 12.5%/25% reduction to the base mana cost of Power Word: Shield. This is not reflected in the tooltip, but is reflected in the amount of mana used when Power Word: Shield is cast by Holy priests who have this talent. The tooltip update will require a client-side patch.
  • Power Word: Shield now costs roughly 34% of base mana, up from 25%. This is not reflected in the tooltip, but is reflected in the amount of mana used when the spell is cast. The tooltip update will require a client-side patch.
  • More information on these changes can be found here.


Dungeons & Raids
Blackwing Descent
  • Maloriak will no longer cast Flash Freeze on anyone who is tanking Aberrations or anyone who has recently been hit by them.






Blue Posts

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Bone Fishing Pole Hotfix
The item level was too high compared to the character level at which it could be used. This was updated in a hotfix on February 14.

It's not supposed to have a level 80 requirement, but it also wasn't supposed to be item level 200. (Source)

Priest (Forums / Cataclysm Talent Calculator / Skills/Talents)
Incoming Healer Changes / Shadowpriests using Power Word: Shield
I probably don’t have the answers you’re looking for in regard to PvP, but Shadow priests already put out significant damage in PvP, and we’re ok if they’re a little bit more vulnerable as a result of this change. Discipline priests while not putting out as much damage, were still healing well and were likewise difficult to kill in PvP. As always, we’ll keep an eye out on these changes to see how they play out on the PvP end.

Generally speaking (and more to the PvE end), the Discipline tree has talents that play off of Penance, Flash Heal, Greater Heal and Prayer of Healing. It wouldn’t be strange for these priests to leverage Power Word:Barrier to help mitigate damage either should the occasion present itself. There's a solid variety of available spells to be used, and we want you to use them. Moreover we think healing as a priest will be more fun if you have to think about which spell to use rather than robotically answering each damage event with PW: Shield. Overall, we’re not reducing the power of Power Word: Shield at all, just increasing its cost and making the more efficient heals more attractive to use.

Power Word: Shield will still have its time and place and as always. We want it to be used often, we just don't want it used to the exclusion of all other abilities. We'll keep an eye on how things play out once the change is applied too.

*Someone earlier in the thread asked if this was an increase from base mana, and it is from the base mana cost.

As an aside: For those sharing constructive feedback, as always, we thank you. For those who are utilizing this thread as a means to simply complain, we hear you, but overstatements of upset aren't going to help us address your concerns. (Source)

Power Word: Shield
We don't want Discipline priests completely reliant on a single spell or ability for everything- (as in), Shield should not be the only spell you feel worth casting. Discipline priests are still very powerful at damage mitigation and we're not trying to take away using PW:Shield on a regular basis or its value. There should still be some worth in choosing which spells to cast and when.

[...] We want people using Power Word: Shield. As others have pointed out, it's something Discipline priests do well (Damage Mitigation) and it took awhile before more people began to believe that (remember those days?). Damage Mitigation will still happen and is still important even with this change, it's just not going to be the ONLY thing that the Discipline spec is going to be using to keep their groups and Raids up. There will be heals as well. Also, in Raids, there will be more than a Discipline priest supporting the raid. So knowing the best use of your abilities in that situation is key and playing off of the strengths of other healers will be as essential as it has always been.

Again, we're continuing to watch constructive feedback even if we may not be responding to all of the questions and thoughts that have been brought up in this thread. We are definitely reading. (Source)






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