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Assuming they don’t change the brews for next year, our beertastic journey will be coming to an end pretty soon. There’s only one brew left that we haven’t seen, which is the Draenic Pale Ale. After that, we’re back to the Binary Brew unless they decide to put out a whole new batch of 12 brews, and I somehow doubt that will happen. Is anybody else hoping the Draenic Pale Ale is truly epic, considering it marks the entire year we’ve been drinking these crazy things?

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Man, what a crazy news day this has been, and the day’s not even over yet. Blizzard just rolled out a new PTR build, so we took a quick trip to the Patch 3.2 PTR and discovered a whole new mechanic that Blizzard hasn’t mentioned yet. It’s yet another change to how raiding works, and it’s pretty cool.

We killed Venoxis in Zul’Gurub and, upon being saved to the instance, noticed that we now had the option to extend our raid lockout — that is, to make it last twice as long or until the next week’s lockout would end.

This means that, if your casual guild is a scrappy bunch working on Ulduar, but you can only get to Mimiron each week before the lockout expires, you can extend your current lockout into the following week to get more practice on the bosses you don’t get to see as often.

Now — ostensibly — once you’ve done what you need to do with your lockout, you can actually remove the raid lockout extension and use your current week’s lockout too. We haven’t gotten to try it yet, but it looks like the functionality is there. Pretty cool!

We’ll wait to see what Blizzard has to say about it, but this is great news for smaller or more casual guilds who really want to clear instances and don’t mind less loot per week.

More shots of the functionality after the jump.

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Normally, this wouldn’t rate too high for us — lots of people have ideas about how to use World of Warcraft, and many of them never actually come about. But then again, this is in the Wall Street Journal of all places, so we’ll give it a look. If you’re on Twitter, you’ve probably heard about what’s going on in Iran right now — there was an election, the “official” results given were judged as rigged by many involved, and the government seems to be cracking down on both news media and citizen journalism, as well as protesting citizens, to very sad results. How does World of Warcraft fit in to all of this? Andrew Lavallee of the WSJ’s Digits blog points to this report by Craig Labovitz, which talks about how Internet traffic has been filtered out of the country around the election. At the very end of his analysis, Labovitz points out that channels for videogames, including both Xbox Live and World of Warcraft, have shown very little government manipulation. That suggests that if the government in Iran does continue to shut down certain channels, citizens there might be forced to spread the news through any virtual route they can, including possibly Azeroth.

This is obviously all just analysis and speculation so far — while there clearly (from those charts) has been interference in the media, no one (as far as we know) has yet had to resort to chatting in World of Warcraft to get their message out, and though what’s happening in Iran is made up of some very serious (and seriously unfortunate) situations, the fervor online about using brand new channels like Twitter to share real-time news is often overstated. Personally, I believe that even if Twitter didn’t exist, this information would find another way to get out. Still, the interesting thing to take away here is that even our “silly” video games today are actually media on a global level.

Thanks, Cedars!

In the past, you’d play games with just your roommate or your friend down the street, but thanks to Blizzard’s MMO and other online services like it, you could be playing virtual shoulder to shoulder with someone halfway around the world. And in the unlikely event that Azeroth was ever called upon to serve as a method of communication for delivering serious news like what’s happening in Iran, Azeroth could probably do it.

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Blizzard has just released a set of major upcoming changes to the Paladin class, due to come about with Patch 3.2. There are some major changes that are wow goldgoing to not sit too well with folks, while making others quite happy. But with that said, it should be noted that all these changes might not make it through.

A few of the key intended changes include:

• Removal of Seal of the Martyr / Seal of Blood
• Crusader Strike cooldown lowered from 6 seconds to 4 seconds
• Beacon of Light buffed significantly
• Illumination nerfed significantly
• Ardent Defender is getting an automatic Last Stand

For additional information on the upcoming patch, check out WoW.com’s Guide to Patch 3.2. The complete announcement after the break.

This post is being edited live. Please bear with us.

The announcement from Eyonix reads:

We have several big changes coming up for the paladin class in patch 3.2. The paladin class Q&A is still in progress, so rather than making you wait, we wanted to give you a preview of what we’re trying to do with all three paladin talent trees. We thought some of the patch notes might not make sense until you understand the design goals.

Caveats: Some of these changes are still in progress and may ultimately end up in a different form or with different numbers. We definitely want to see these changes in action on the PTR and we will iterate on them accordingly based on player testing and feedback. None of this is set in stone. Furthermore, assume that talents, glyphs or set bonuses that affect any impacted abilities will also be changed accordingly. Finally, don’t expect that every class will see this many changes. We are making far fewer changes to class mechanics overall in 3.2, but paladins in particular have some issues we feel are in need of being addressed.

Protection

Currently, we think paladin tanks are almost there and that they just need slightly better cooldowns to handle some of the tougher boss fights. Rather than add a new ability that felt like a clone of another class’s ability, we decided to buff an existing talent that was no longer cutting it. Ardent Defender has two important changes. The first is that the damage can no longer “skip over” the 35% health level – it will always be reduced. Secondly, it has a new effect that if a blow would kill you, it instead sets you to 30% health. This portion of the ability cannot occur more than once every 2 minutes. Think of it as a Last Stand that you don’t have to push.

A second change to Protection is we want to make sure Blessing of Sanctuary is always the tanking blessing of choice. A likely change here is to have it boost stamina as well.

We also recognize that block does not provide the mitigation it once did. While we have long-term plans to change the way block works entirely, in the short term we are doubling the effect of bonus block value on items (so jewelry, but not shields).

Holy

We like that Holy paladins have a niche as single-target healers. The problem is we think this niche is a little too narrow at the moment. Furthermore, paladins don’t have a wide arsenal of healing spells so it’s important that all of them are being used.

First, we are changing Flash of Light so that it places a heal-over-time effect on any target with Sacred Shield on them (the effect will be similar to Sheathe of Light). This should make Flash see a little more use.

Second, and more importantly, we are changing the way Beacon of Light works. Currently, it does not count over-healing on the target. We are changing that. In other words, if you place Holy Light on a rogue who is already at full health, it will still have the full effect on a tank with Beacon of Light on them. This is a huge buff, particularly when you consider the Holy Light glyph which allows for a small amount of “splash” healing. This effect isn’t common when you use Holy Light on a tank because the tank is often standing alone. But if you heal the melee, you are likely to get a lot more total healing from this effect (while still healing the tank through Beacon of Light). We are also going to try to allow a target to have more than one beacon (i.e. from different paladins) on them.

Many players may surmise that this change would make paladins far and away the best healers in the game. This is partially because paladin mana regeneration is so potent. That isn’t an issue when the paladin can generally only heal the tank. With the Beacon of Light change, the paladin can provide a lot more raid or party healing. To adjust for this, we are going to reduce the amount of mana returned by Illumination. If you use Holy Light too recklessly (such as on targets who don’t require that much healing) you do risk burning out of mana too quickly. Of course, they will still have Divine Plea and other mana regeneration mechanics.

As a footnote, we are also likely to slightly adjust Replenishment and buff the amount of MP5 on gear.

These changes should lead to healing as Holy being more dynamic – you are going to be targeting a lot more group members than just the tank, while still providing massive healing on the tank. However, you won’t be able to just constantly spam your biggest heals, at least not on the more challenging encounters. There is an opportunity here for skilled players to really do some outstanding healing as paladins, but it’s going to take a little more effort. This is something a lot of players have been asking for so we hope that it delivers without completely changing what some paladins enjoy about their healing style.

Retribution

Depending on who you ask, Retribution paladins are either perceived as being in need of improvements to make them stronger or are in need of changes to make them less powerful. We are really happy with the overall changes to the Seal and Judgement system from Lich King. However, Ret still has some problems. There aren’t enough buttons to push and they are all limited by cooldowns, allowing Ret paladins to have a lot of up-front burst without requiring a lot of skill or timing to actually hit those buttons (now after the opening moves of a fight, we think things get a lot more interesting because now the paladin’s defenses, healing and dispelling can come into play). We have other problems to fix as well. Exorcism currently can’t be used on players, which we think is a weak design. We have also become less enamored with the drawback to Seal of Blood / Seal of the Martyr causing damage to the paladin.

Here are the design changes we hope will fix all of these problems:

First, Exorcism has a cast time of 1.5 seconds but can be used on players again. This will let paladins use it in PvP, but not while moving towards a target.

Second, we are changing The Art of War to make not only Flash of Light instant, but also Exorcism. Choose healing or damage. Paladins will have to watch for this proc and use Exorcism when it happens. The spell itself is still ranged, but the proc will only occur when the paladin is already in melee.

Third, we are lowering the cooldown and damage of Crusader Strike to four seconds from six seconds. This accomplishes a few things. It lowers burst, it gives the paladins more buttons to push since they aren’t always waiting on cooldowns, it requires a little more skill since the player will have to choose between Crusader Strike and other attacks more often (such as the new Exorcism procs), and it gives Retribution a chance to get more damage out of their Seals (providing a sustained DPS boost for PvE).

Fourth, we are removing Seal of Blood and Seal of the Martyr. The damage recoil increasingly felt like a liability in PvE, and wasn’t serving to offset the massive burst damage capable in PvP. We are buffing Seal of Vengeance / Corruption and redesigning Seal of Command with the expectation that these are now the seals of choice for PvP and PvE. Righteousness can remain a tanking seal.

Finally, we are replacing the current effect of Vindication with an attack power debuff that works like Demoralizing Shout. In PvP, Ret paladins can still debuff melee targets, while in PvE they can provide another necessary debuff in the case that the tank is not a warrior or druid. In addition, the talent may be more attractive to Protection paladins.

These changes do not close the door on adding additional attacks, PvP utility or even the oft-requested Crusader Strike debuff. If the changes outlined above finally accomplish the goal of balancing Retribution in PvE and PvP, then we can start exploring those other design issues.

Again, these are our current plans and they may change based on testing and feedback. The changes to all three trees are things we are working on right now. Some of them might not work out quite the way we intended and will have to undergo iteration before finally showing up in 3.2. Even once the patch goes live, we are still likely to have to tweak numbers. This is simply a preview of what may yet come and we hope that it will be viewed as such.

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We’ve talked about the limits and benefits of totems before, but Shamans have pretty much agreed that, especially since totems are starting to see some shared usage with other classes’ spells, they could really use a revamp in terms of base mechanics. The main issue is simply mobility — totems are designed to be dropped and immobile, and that on its own starts them at a disadvantage wow goldwhen compared to buffs that are placed directly on players. There have been lots of ideas passed around about how to get out from under that limit — a “relay” totem that could spread buffs around, a mobile totem attached to the Shaman him/herself, or just a kind of totem pet that could be directed by the Shaman as needed.

But Ghostcrawler just plain says no. In response to many issues with the totem mechanic, he chooses to focus on mobility, saying the fact that Shaman totems have limited range and must be placed in certain places is intrinsic to the way the class functions. He admits that totem mechanics are being examined (the main issue the OP has is totem health, and indeed, it may be tough for Shamans to keep both their totems and their mana up), but says that mobility is not a change they’re planning for: totems are designed to be strategically placed once, and that’s the way they’ll stay.

Bad news? Not really — when I played as a Shaman, and for most of the Shamans I know, the totem mechanic is something to be proud of. Sure it’s a pain, but a physical manifestation of the spells and buffs we cast is unique to the class. The only issue will be whether Blizzard makes up for that disadvantage in some other way — so far, it seems most totem-droppers would say they haven’t.

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Vaneras has just released the details for the Isle of Conquest, the new battleground that will be appearing in Patch 3.2, Call of the Crusade.

You can read the complete details over on the official forums or check ‘em out after the break. There are some key things that everyone should be aware of:

• IoC will be a 40-man battleground. Yes, you wow goldread that right. This is the first 40-man content released since Naxx 1.0. That is going to make some old school players very, very happy. I know I’m already giddy with excitement.
• There will be significant use of siege and vehicle combat. This includes going on The Airship Hanger and using parachutes to drop teams onto the enemy keep from above.
• You will need to kill a general held up in the enemy keep, much like Alterac Valley.
• Reinforcements will be used. Capture resources to boost your strength.

This looks like an amazing new battleground, and one that I’m sure many of us cannot wait to try out on the PTR. There has been a ton of new information about Patch 3.2 released in the last few days, so it looks like PTR might be soonish. Keep your fingers crossed.

The complete statement on the new Isle of Conquest after the break!
An island somewhere off the shores of Northrend. A rock, hardly worth a second look. But as insignificant as it may seem, this is no ordinary place. A sound of thunder as waves crash endlessly against rocky cliffs; a sound of fury as swords clash on the blood-stained fields of this island on the edge of forever.

Welcome to the Isle of Conquest.

The ongoing struggle between Horde and Alliance has turned many once peaceful (and some not-so peaceful) places into theaters of constant war. The Isle of Conquest is the latest such place, set to be the location of a battle of epic proportions over the island’s precious resources.

An Alliance and a Horde general are fighting for dominance, overseeing the action from the safety of their keeps. Whichever side manages to eliminate the enemy general first will triumph on the island; failure to protect your leader will bring shame, dishonor, and defeat. There is no peace accord here, and it’s an all-out war between the factions.

Once More into the breach…

Isle of Conquest, a new battleground scheduled to make its debut in the upcoming content patch, Call of the Crusade, will pitch teams of up to 40 players against each other in a massive battle over this small island off Northrend’s northern coast. To win, your team will need to make use of the island’s unique strategic locations including an oil derrick, a siege workshop, and a fully equipped airship hangar. You will deploy devastating siege weaponry on the field; Light have mercy on anyone caught between you and your ultimate target, the general holed up in the enemy keep.

There are five points of interest on the Isle of Conquest for the factions to battle over. Each one offers its own benefits and strategic value. Which one will you claim for your side, and will it be enough to ensure victory?

Capture Locations

Consider your options before storming out of your keep to confront the enemy head-on. Spread throughout the Isle of Conquest are several capturable locations (as seen on the map), each granting a unique strategic advantage to your team.

The Oil Derrick: Located on the northwestern end of the island, this smudge in the Frozen Sea produces enough black gold to run a thousand siege engines. Taking this resource garners precious reinforcements and a continuous flow of honor to the side that controls it.

The Cobalt Mine: This snow-covered assembly, located on the southeastern end of the island, hides untapped supplies that must be harvested. Taking this resource grants reinforcements and a continuous flow of honor to the side that controls it.

The Docks: The western shore’s docks will further expand your selection of siege weapons with the devastating new Glaive Thrower and the Catapult. Unleash the destruction of the Glaive Thrower upon the walls of the keep, or launch your invading party over the walls to assault the keep from within.

The Airship Hangar: This sturdy steel structure stands on the peak of Mt. Conquest overlooking the eastern side of the island, allowing players to board the airship docked there. This devastating weapon of war is capable of raining death upon the heads of your enemies and destroying enemy defenses. Once onboard the airship, players will find it comes equipped with parachutes enabling a strike team to drop into the enemy keep from above.

The Siege Workshop: Situated right between the Alliance base and the Horde base, this siege workshop occupies a strategic hot spot. Seizing it grants the controlling party the ability to utilize an arsenal of siege vehicles perfectly suited to reducing the enemy keep’s walls to dust and ashes.

Graveyards: There are five graveyards in the Isle of Conquest that are attached to different points of interest on the map: the Horde base, the Alliance base, an oil spill island in the center of the map (attached to the siege workshop), the northeast corner (attached to the airship hangar), and the southwest corner (attached to the docks).

Main Objectives

The Keeps: The Horde and Alliance keeps sit at opposite ends of the island. These citadels host four easily accessible defensive cannons set on the ramparts, capable of unleashing hot fury onto oncoming attackers. Additional explosives sit safely stowed in the base of the keep along the back wall. At least, they’re safe as long as they don’t fall into enemy hands. If they do, though, they can be employed to bring the stone walls down from within.

The General: Holed up behind the keeps’ massive walls, the generals command their forces from a position of relative safety. Should the keep fall and the general be slain, the Isle of Conquest will fall to the victor.

Reinforcements: Isle of Conquest uses a reinforcements system similar to that of Alterac Valley. The clock is ticking and every individual counts. If too many of your comrades fall to the enemy the battle will end in defeat. Killing enemy players will reduce their reinforcements by one for each kill, Once your faction’s reinforcements reach their limit, so too does your bid for control of the island and the wealth of resources you’ve fought so hard over.

An island somewhere off the shores of Northrend. A rock, hardly worth a second look. A test of strength. A chance to prove your might, to crush your enemies, to make a difference, a chance for endless glory and conquest.

Will you seize it?

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New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW’s newest players to the resources they need to get acclimated. Send us a note to suggest a WoW Rookie topic.

You’ve always wanted to be the eye of the storm: a World of Warcraft tank. You’re working your way up toward level 80, quest by quest wow goldand zone by zone. Maybe you’ve consulted a leveling guide and done some research around the internet, and you’re sporting a shiny, efficient leveling spec. Or maybe you’re taking things more casually, experimenting with different specs and abilities on your own and devoting most of your energy to soaking up the sights and the lore, meeting new friends and settling into your first guild.

Either way, you’re beginning to feel the first tendrils of apprehension curling around your ankles. You haven’t been able to get many instance groups to knock the shine off that new armor. Heck, maybe you’re not even tanking-specced yet at all. What’s going to happen when you hit 80? Everyone’s going to expect you to know the pointy end of the sword from what’s under that fluffy tail you feel inclined to tuck beneath you … What can you bring to the table with absolutely (gulp) zero experience?

	The basics of aggro management The first thing you need to understand, young Padawan, is the underlying principle that allows a tank to do his or her job: aggro. Learn to dance with aggro as a Jedi does with the Force. As your group or raid’s tank, you need to have an implicit understanding of aggro, from what it is and where it comes from, to why YOU want it and why the rest of the players don’t.
	Tanking 101 You understand the principles of aggro – now what do you DO with it? What are the methods, tools and tactics that help you gain and hold aggro? And once you have aggro, how do you live through it?
	Great power and great responsibility What’s it like to be the tank, anyway? The pivotal position you play in groups lends a unique perspective to how you play and enjoy the game.

Class-specific tanking
Class balance has become a fluid thing in today’s World of Warcraft, but we can still point you toward some universal truths. Know that the details in the following class-specific articles may have changed since they were written, but they’ll give you a good feel for what you can expect from the tanking experience in your chosen class.

• Druid tanking Bear tanking strategies
• Paladin tanking The tankadin for dummies
• Warrior tanking Rage and how to use it
• Death Knight tanking Tips for new Death Knights from a fellow melee, Part 1 and Part 2

Advanced studies
Read more about tanking among the posts in our tanking class columns.

• Tank Talk
• Druids Shifting Perspectives
• Paladins The Light and How to Swing It
  
• Warriors The Care and Feeding of Warriors
• Death Knights Lichborne

Read Metagaming for newbies to snag a list of basic theorycrafting resources, and check the comments below to discover reader favorites from among the many popular and informative tanking resources outside of WoW.com.

To battle!

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Sometimes you’d like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know wow goldabout all MMOs, including WoW! Check out this roundup of the latest news from the wider MMO world.

	Blizzard believes fans make their games successful With E3 2009 officially underway, it’s a great time for devs and CEOs to chat about their games and Blizzard’s very own Mike Morhaime has been talking about the company’s position in the MMO market with Develop. He believes that Blizzard is uniquely positioned within the industry and that it’s all about the players.
	World of Warcraft in China to go offline for weeks in operator handover In addition to government regulations preventing Wrath of the Lich King from releasing for the Mainland, we’ve reported that The9 has lost the rights to operate World of Warcraft in China to competitor NetEase. Now we learn that the transition of operations from The9 to NetEase will mean World of Warcraft goes dark in China for a matter of weeks.
	E3 2009: Trion World Network unveils fantasy MMO Heroes of Telara Trion World Network unveiled its first fantasy MMO title Heroes of Telara at E3 2009 today. The announcement was accompanied by the launch of the official Heroes of Telara site, that provides background on the gameplay elements and backstory, as well as screenshots, concept art, and a game trailer.

	E3 2009: Jumpgate Evolution’s E3 trailer evokes that space opera drama When attempting to entice potential players with your game it never hurts to remind them of that television show or movie they love so very much, and how that it’s possible to live out their fantasies of said other property in your own. This rule of thumb is why the E3 2009 trailer for Jumpgate Evolution over at G4TV’s website is so very good. The trailer is quite successful in making us want to pop in our Battlestar Galactica reboot DVDs and watch them all over again.
	Summertime MMO alternatives You, much like myself, may have had summer MMO plans a month or so ago. But like many things in life, circumstances changed and both Champions Online and Jumpgate Evolution were met with delays in their schedules — making any plans to play them over the summer null.
	The forgotten MMO: Dungeons and Dragons Online You always hear about the good MMOs and the bad MMOs, but there are certainly some MMOs that just seem to hang in the background. They’re always there and omnipresent, they never do exquisitely bad, but somehow they’re just forgotten amongst the sea of hyped games and broken promises.
	EVE Online’s aggression mechanics The aggression mechanics are something that every pilot in EVE Online should learn about. This is a set of rules that determines who you can attack in high security space, who can attack you and whether you can dock or use a stargate. Knowing them inside and out can mean the difference between losing your ship and keeping it in one piece, even if you have no intent of getting into a PvP situation. Nevertheless, it’s a part of the game that a lot of players don’t take the time to properly acquaint themselves with.
	GTA MMO would be a profitable venture, analyst suggests In a recent set of statements to Gamasutra, Mike Hickey, an analyst with Janco Partners, brought up the profitability of an MMO set within the Grand Theft Auto franchise. While Hickey notes that success would only be possible if Take-Two partnered up with another company who had a well designed infrastructure and MMO experience, the whole paragraph is certainly a nod in the direction of online crime games at large — a genre relatively untapped in the MMO landscape.
	Champions Online on Xbox 360 later this year, Star Trek Online by April 2010 We knew that Champions Online was heading to the PC on September 1st, and that hasn’t changed. What has been altered however, is the release date for the Xbox 360 version of Cryptic’s second superpowered MMO — that date is now sometime between September 1st and December 31st of this year. A bit vague, we know, but it’s a whole lot better than being unannounced entirely.

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In a discussion of tanking mechanics on the forums, Ghostcrawler made a long and in depth post about various subjects that helped consolidate one of the real problems with block and block value in Wrath of the Lich King. Not only is blocking something that only two of the four tanking classes do, but it’s a pretty lackluster stat for boss tanking.

• Block as a mechanic is gold wowsomewhere between avoidance and mitigation. Ideally it removes a fair amount of damage (vs. all damage) reasonably often (vs. rarely). If block is up 100% of the time it just becomes armor that you improve through a different stat. We have let block chances creep up frankly because the amount blocked is pretty trivial when bosses are hitting for 40% of your health pool every swing. If this still strikes you as too RNG, imagine abilities like Shield Block and Holy Shield that could guarantee 100% chance to block for a short period of time.
• We don’t think block is cutting it as a mechanic, but the direction we are likely to take it is probably more of a change than you are considering.

The problem with block (which is really two mechanics in one, block rating which determines how often you block, and block value, which determines how much damage you subtract from a hit when you block it) is that for trash, it’s inflated due to the block chance creeping upwards that GC mentions above. But for boss fights where a boss can either hit you physically for far, far more than you could ever block or hits you with massive magical damage that block does nothing at all against (well, unless you’re a warrior in Tier 8 with the four piece set bonus) block has simply fallen behind the curve.

This is an issue because, as Ghostcrawler posted in another thread:

• “We were starting to see many guilds ask their warrior or paladin to step aside so the DK could tank the hard mode encounters. This was not an isolated incident for a few guilds — this was the kind of widespread phenomenon that really makes us take notice. If it was a boss or two that the DK was the best at, we would have just kept an eye on it. Increasingly though it was every hard mode. I will be the first to admit that the community is wrong sometimes. We don’t think that is the case this time. The numbers backed up their conclusions pretty well. “
• We think there is a risk that druids will take the place of DKs now. We think that risk is small because while druid armor and health are high, their cooldowns are nowhere near the DK level. So we’ll just keep an eye on it for now.

Part of this comes from the dichotomy of Avoidance vs. Mitigation on tanking gear and how block currently fits into these mechanics. Avoidance (think Dodge or an increased Magic Resistance) is random and often all or nothing. You don’t dodge half of an attack. High avoidance can lead to a situation where you take absolutely no damage for several swings and then take massive spikes of damage when it fails. Avoidance is certainly worth gearing for, but you don’t want to put all your tanking eggs in that basket for fear of being the kind of tank who makes healers tear their hair out at how random and unpredictable damage is to you. Block Rating shares the random nature of an avoidance stat: you either block or you do not.

Mitigation, on the other hand, isn’t random at all. High armor doesn’t have the ‘will I dodge or not’ flavor, it simply always reduces how much incoming physical damage you actually take. As GC points out, mitigation is a great stat but it doesn’t have the random factor that can sometimes save a tank’s bacon. If you’re down to 10k health and the next big swing is going to hit for 20k, avoidance might save you but mitigation certainly won’t. Mitigation is a far more reliable stat which allows healers to have much more of a sense of how much damage a tank is going to take. Block Value shares the predictable nature of a mitigation stat: you know exactly how much you’re going to block for. Of course, abilities like Shield Block and Holy Shield alter chance to block and in the case of SB how much you block for (so if you had 1200 SBV and hit shield block, you’re now at 2400 SBV) which gives some wiggle room.

However, even with a cooldown ability, blocking usually simply isn’t going to take enough damage off to keep a tank alive through two big hits from current ‘boom damage‘ bosses. This is why blocking has become lackluster compared to other stats on gear and why DK’s and Druids, with their much more predictable damage taken as tanks and higher health/armor pools, are prefered for hard modes over warriors and paladins. They’re simply easier to heal. Blocking doesn’t do much at all for situations like this. As long as blocking is so unimpressive, the tanks that don’t bother to block will always be subject to incoming nerfs like this and balance between tanks will be difficult. It’s therefore in every tank’s interest if block can achieve parity.

What’s the solution? Well, just allowing blocks to block magic damage doesn’t really do much to address the big spikes of damage that block is failing to address as a mechanic. It’s nice if blocking could prevent 20% of incoming magic damage, yes, but it still doesn’t fix the oh snap he’s going to hit me for 25k three times and the healers all have to move to avoid yet another burning circle of death and/or dismemberment on the floor so I have to take those three hits and somehow stay up mechanics that favor DK/Druid tanks. How do we make block relevant for those fights? Jacking up block value would possibly help to some degree, but then there’s the use of block value as a threat stat to consider. If block values tripled, then Shield Slam damage would skyrocket as well. You know there would be problems if Shield of the Righteous started hitting for 10k and critting for 20. Also, if Block Value also blocked magic you run into the danger of PvP balance.

SInce GC has already mentioned that block rates have already gone up, a straightforward buffing of block rating probably isn’t the answer either. They’ve already done that, and block still isn’t cutting the mustard. In the end I’m forced to come back to the statement “the direction we are likely to take it is probably more of a change than you are considering.” What does this mean? Obviously, I don’t know, but it’s possible that we could see the end of block value entirely and a shift to Block as a pure avoidance stat: you block, you take no damage. Then block rates could be dropped and Shield Slam/Damage Shield/Shield of the Righteous damage would be based entirely off of strength. That’s one possible radical change that I can think of and I’m sure other tanks could think of others.

At any rate, block in its current state simply isn’t nearly as compelling as it once was. It’s moved from a solid all around tanking stat to more of a threat stat. Hopefully whatever they have planned will help with tanking parity and make the stat more useful.

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Snowyfox of the US Vek’nilash server recently brought up a point on the forums which is near and dear to my heart: 5-mans really feel like they’ve lost their heart. In both Vanilla WoW and Burning Crusade, you could usually count on having the motivation and reward for running a 5 man no matter what your level. In Vanilla WoW, you might do a tribute run for potions and buffs or a Stratholme run for Abomination stitchings for an enchant. In BC, you’d run for badges. In Wrath of the Lich King… not so much. Badges don’t stretch so far since most of the good stuff requires badges only obtained in raid dungeons, and even the daily quests aren’t even close to as lucrative as just heading up to the Argent Tournament or over to the Sons of Hodir and doing some dailies.

Yet 5-mans, in many ways, are the heart of the game. They’re where you cut your teeth on group mechanics and really learning your class. While there are many PuG horror stories, they can also be a place to meet new friends and prospective guild members. They’re a nice way to get together and do something with friends in game that’s a little less intensive than raiding but can be done with everyone on the same page more easily than trying to synchronize quests. I know I have quite a few great memories of doing 5-man dungeons with friends, myself.

The nice thing is, Ghostcrawler chimed in to say that things may have not fallen completely on deaf ears. They did stuff like making end-game raiding more accessible and segregating badge rewards so that raiders wouldn’t feel like they were obligated to run 5-mans, he says, but in the process they may have made 5-mans too easy to graduate from, and thus they may want to strike a balance in the future.

I’d love to see 5-man progression more open-ended and rewarding in the future. Being able to work toward more badge gear and even cool cosmetic rewards like the Argent Tournament mounts and pets would be amazing, as would a wider variety of daily quests with interesting storylines (Something beyond kill me the boss and bring me this drop) and solid rewards that make them more enticing than the soloable dailies. Since it seems Blizzard has this idea in their heads, perhaps we’ll see the first fruits of it in patch 3.2. I’d love to see more interesting daily quests or rewards come out of the 5-man Argent Coliseum and even out of other older dungeons that would inspire me to log on and run them again.

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