This week has been very busy in World of Warcraft. The blue posts have been running rampant with new releases and upcoming changes. One of the biggest announcements was the release of Ulduar to the test realms. Ulduar is going to be the newest 10/25 man raid in World of Warcraft. Having just finished the Storm Peaks quests, which are heavily based in the lore of Ulduar, I can't wait to get in here and kill some badies!! Sign up for the public test realms if you have not already, and check it out.
NOTE: Spoilers in the video above, for those that don't want to see the insides of Ulduar until you step in yourself.
Blizzard also announced the sign-ups for the 2009 arena tournament are open. I was lucky enough to get Gladiator (thanks to a few great friends), and I can tell you there is nothing more invigorating, exciting and downright frustrating as arenas. When you do well in arena, whether it be 2v2, 3v3 or 5v5, it is mostly based on great teamwork, and, sad but true, luck and a good overpowered team set-up. No matter how you earn your title though, a high arena rating is hard to accomplish, and is something to be very proud of! So get together a group of your best gankers, and go get em! The winners will receive a special murloc and the title of "Vanquisher". Sign up and go kick some butt!
This week Blizzard made a few changes in characters; but one of the biggest was the change to the Rogues ability Mutilate. Some call it a nerf, others call it a blessing. Rogues simply did too much burst damage, and one of the quick fixes thought up by Blizzard was to lessen their mutilate ability. They are thinking of ways to fix their obvious overpoweredness, but nothing that could have been patched in. Any option they choose will require either a complete Rogue talent tree change, or a basic overhaul of a couple of their skills in general.
There was also a lot of talk about Patch 3.1 last week. The PTR opened, as did character copying (though character copying is currently down) and the Patch 3.1 forum board. Some of the most exciting changes are that ground mounts will now be able to swim in water, Ulduar opens and we can have dual specs!
For anyone who has played WoW long enough to have a mount (nowadays level 30), then you know the pain of being dismounted in the most inopportune times. On more than one occasion I have walked through a puddle only to be dismounted and have to go through the tedious process of remounting. It seems silly, but really, not having to waste that 3 seconds to remount is something I am very giddy about.
As stated earlier, Ulduar looks simply fantastic. Check out some screen shots to get a small idea of what's to come. Keep in mind that these are not the finished products; but even these first looks are breathtaking.
As for dual specs, *giddyhappydance*, I can't wait. Being able to have 2 specs at any given time is going to add a whole new layer to the game. Pally tanks can be pally healers or dps in an instant. Resto tree PVE druids can switch to a moonfire spamming moonkin in seconds. Have too many tanks in raid, or simply not the right set up? In an instant any class can respect to create the perfect raid. For PVP, this is amazing. For most classes you need to respec in order to have the best set-up for arenas or battlegrounds. In some cases, that means spending 50g just to move around a few points. Ugh! But now, classes can choose to be tank/healers, tank/dps, healer/dps. pve healer/pvp healer, and so much more. There is no limit to the choices you can make. Pop on to the Wowhead talent calculator and preview your dual specs today.
I am also excited for the addition of new glyphs, about 20 new non-combat pets (some of the best being a Plump Turkey, Wolvar Orphan and an Enchanted Broom) and some new monsters. Also, check out Tier 8 via MMO Champion in the gallery below. It's beautiful. *Tear*
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