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Patch 3.0.2 is Going Live!

And no Gordon the Gopher in sight!

Patch 3.0.2 will be applied to the servers in tomorrow’s maintenance (0100 to 1300 BST) and when the servers come back up the world will be changed forever.

This is the biggest patch WoW has ever received while I’ve been playing, with every class having major adjustments, new abilities and talents.

So, without further ado, let me give some answers to what I believe will be the most commonly asked/shouted/QQ’d questions in-game come tomorrow.

Q: Why can’t I mount? My mount has vanished from my bag saying something about having learnt it!
A: Mounts and Vanity Pets no longer take up bag space, when you use them you now learn them as a spell and the item itself vanishes. You can access learnt Mounts and Vanity Pets on the new Mounts and Companions area on the Pet tab visible on your character sheet. Simply drag them from there to your bars as usual.

Q: Hmmm, the Pet Trainer will no longer teach my pet anything and keeps rambling about talent points, is he crazy?
A: No he isn’t. The Hunter Pet system has been completely redesigned, you no longer need to go out and tame random pets to learn new skills to teach your REAL pet. They learn all their appropriate moves as they level up.

Pets now have talent trees just like players, each pet family has one of three trees in which it can spend points and learn new abilities. Simply go to the Talent window and click the Pet tab.

Q: I’ve just received an Achievement and noticed I earned some points, where do I spend them?
A: You cannot spend achievement points, they are just a way of measuring how much you have accomplished. In much the same way as Gamerscore points on XBOX Live. However, completing certain sets of achievements can unlock various vanity items such as Titles, Tabards, Mounts and Vanity Pets.

Q: How do I get to Northrend? And how do I make a Death Knight?
A: To do either of those things you need to wait until Wrath of the Lich King comes out on the 13th November, purchase it and then install it. 

So there you go, if you see someone QQing, you know where to send them for answers…

Tags: Death Knight, Northrend, Patch 3.0.2, wotlk, wow

Patch 3.0.2 - The Wrath Pre-Patch

So, patch 3.0.2 has gone into testing on the Public Test Realm (PTR). Patch 3.0.2 is what has become known as the Wrath Pre-Patch. It’s intended to bring those with WoW original and Burning Crusade up to the baseline of Wrath content.

Basically, any changes that affect everyone, regardless of if they own Wrath of the Lich King or not, are included.
Pretty much the only things not included are the Wrath zones and quests and levels 71-80 (and corresponding skills).

The biggest changes are the various class talent trees and skills, for most classes the trees have been rearranged and rejigged quite substantially. Some classes also get new skills, such as the druid with their much sought after regular ressurection skill, Revive.

A big change for casters is the removal of +damage and +healing, combining them into a single Spell Power stat. This change also changes a lot of gear, and potentially provides some gear overlap and choice where previously there was none.

Most of the old world map changes have taken effect too, Dalaran is no longer under it’s protective bubble in Alterac Mountains, only a HUGE crater remains now it has “flown” to Northrend. Naxxramas has vacated it’s Plaguelands home, Stormwind Harbour has appeared along with the new zeppelin towers for Horde.

Barbershops have appeared in various capital cities and you can now learn Inscription (the new “Wrath” profession) and take it to 375 skill.

A lot of the miscellaneous changes have also taken effect. The Achievements, Token and new Vanity Pet/Mount systems are in. The latter two are designed to save bag and bank space, the Token pane eliminates carrying PvP marks/Raid Badges and similar, simply showing how many you have and giving you that bag space back. The new Vanity Pet/Mount system has you learn how to summon pets and mounts when you use the old item. Meaning you can throw the item away once learnt. You simply click the relevant pet/mount from a new tab on your character sheet.

As well as these Quality of Life changes, we also have a new dynamic shadow system implemented, this looks fantastic, especially when you’ve been used to nothing more than blob shadows. It makes the world much more alive, but equally ups the power required to display it. Luckily you can disable them if your PC can’t take the strain.

It’s perhaps the biggest patch WoW has ever had due to a lot of the fundamental class changes and system alterations. Because of this it will perhaps also bring with it a lot of question from folks not understanding where things have moved to, where their marks have gone etc.

It’s also to my mind, the most exciting patch since I’ve been playing WoW, as it signifies that Wrath of the Lich King isn’t all that far away. It will be interesting to experience the new expansion from day one, rather than after the buzz has died down.

Also, to me, Northrend is much more interesting than Outland. I can’t wait!

Tags: Northrend, Patch 3.0.2, wotlk, wow