That'sallthetimewehave.DungeonsandRaidsiscomingupinabit,sostaytunedalldaytodayformorelivecoveragefromBlizzConhereonWoWInsider.Morepicturescomingsoon.Thanksforreading!
10:41am:Eachpillarhasitsowntoptexture,soitcanbeeasilyidentifiedwhilefightinginthearena.Looksgreat-theblueskyandthefiretrailshaveagreatcontrast.
10:42am:NowofftotheDalaransewers-theywantedtomakeitfitinDalaran,andmakeitnice,small,andtight.Thesewersareaseedyarea,so"youcanimagineitassomethinglikeFightClub."YoucanevenseethearenathroughDalaran'sfloor-therearescriptedNPCsthatwillfight.
10:43am:Morelineofsightblocking-there'sapillarofwaterthatistimedthatwillblockLOS,andevendoaknockbackifyou'rehitbyit.Notaknockdown,butenoughtokeepyououtofthewater.That'spartofthegameplay-sinceit'sasmallplace,there'snotasmanyplacestorun.Sonohuggingthewaterpillar-theycallit"areadenial."
10:35am:CoryStockton,TomChilton,Ghostcrawler(GregStreet)areallhere.Firstup,theOrgrimmarArena-therearemovingpylonstochangelineofsight,andDoTfirehazardsthatplayerscanneedtoavoid.
10:39am:Cory'sshowingaPvPvideooftheArena.There'saplatformthatcarriesplayerstothedungeonatstart,andinstantlyeverythingisopen.They'reshowingthepillarsgoingupanddown-LOSworksonlywhenthey'redown,soifyouhidebackthere,youcan'tgethealedorhurtuntilitdropsdown.Youcanalsostandonthepillarasitrises,buttogettoitfast,youmighthavetotakethefiredamage.
10:44am:Nomountsinthesewersatall.Travelformswork,butnotmounts.Somepeopleweresurprised-therearestratsthatusethemounts,buttheywon'tworkinthesewers.Theyalsocreatedsomestartingareapipesthatareofftheground,whichmeansthatwhileplayersarestillinthestartingarea,theycan'tgethurt.Buttheycan'tstayintherefortoolong-thewaterwilleventuallyspitthemout.
10:46am:Showingthesewersvideo.There'sacentralraisedplatform,andtheonlywayonisthroughtwostairsonthecorners,soifyougetknockedoff,youhavetogoaround.Thewaterisonlyonforafewseconds,andhesaidit'sthesametimeeverytime,solotsofstrategythere.Verydark.There'stwosetsofbarrels/cratesonthesidesoftheraisedplatformyoucouldhidebehindaswell.
10:48am:Thecratesarepermanentlineofsightblockers,butthestripbehinditisverysmall,soyou'llhavetobecareful.Heshowsaplayergettingknockedoutofthestartingpipe-it'sastrongknockback,theplayergoesflyingacrosstheroom.
10:49am:Battlegrounds.StrandoftheAncients.Crowdapplauds,andCorysays"that'sagoodsign!"Wewantedtodoanattack-defendmap-wewantedtointegrateitintoWoWinawaythatitfeltlikeitfight.Andsincedestructiblebuildingsandsiegeengineswerenew,thatworkedforwhatyouhavetoattackordefend.
10:50am:It'llbeatimedattackdefend,soyou'llhavetoattackasfastaspossible,andtrytodefendtheothersideforlonger.
10:51am:Siegevehiclesalsohelpplayersgetbackinthegame.Willbeuppedto15vs.15(betarightnowis10vs.10),andthey'regoingtoincreasetheamountofvehiclestobalancethat.
10:53am:Thereareaseriesofwallstobustthrough,andit'slikeBattlefield1942-theycreateddynamicmovingspawnpoints,soplayerscomeofftheshore,jumpintoasiegevehicle,andstartblowingthingsup.Forplayerswhodon'tgetintovehicles,thereareminestocarryuptothewallsandarm.Whentheygetdropped,there's3-4secondsforenemiestodisarm,soevennon-vehiclegameplaycanleadtofights.
10:54am:Therearemultipleanglestotaketowardtheenemykeep,soyoucanmoveuptheleftorrightsidefirst,chooseawaytogolikechoosingwhichnodestojumponinAB.Wallshavetheirownuniqueiconandcolor,soplayerscanidentifywheretogofirst.
10:55am:ShowingStrandoftheAncientsvideo.Playersbeginonboats,andthenadvancetowardsanawesomelookingtemple,that'sthefinalobjective.Siegeenginelooksgood-arethosephysics?Shotsleaveafire/smoketrailintheair.Therearealsoplacedcannonstofireback.There'snocooldownonthose,justglobal,buttheyaredestructible,sooffensivevehiclescanstopthem.Showingthemine-takesabout6seconds,butmaytakemorethanoneminetofinishoffawall.
10:56am:Finally,Wintergrasp.Anon-instancedPvPzone."Wintergraspwasahugestepforus.Somethingobviouslywe'veneverdonebefore."Theywantedalargenumberofplayers-hundreds-playingandfightinginonezone,usingweapons,andhavingitallmakesenseintermsofonebattle.They'retakingnoteswatchingthegamesonMurmur-150players,siegevehicleexplosionseverywhere.Givesplayerssomethingtheycan'texperienceanywhereelseinthegame.
10:58am:Alsoanattack/defendmap-therearewallsaroundthefortressinthemiddle,soyou'vegottobreakyourwayinthroughoneof30walls.Buttogetthevehicles,youhavetoearnranksbycontributingtothefight,andyouhavetogetHKstodothat.Rightnowit'sat2kills/rank,butthatmaychange.Workshopsaroundthemapletyoubuildvehicles,andyoucanchoosevarioustypesofvehiclesbasedonyourrank,anddifferentvehiclesfitfordifferentscenarios-artillery,tank,melee,etc.
11:00am:There'sacooldownbetweeneachattack/defendmode-rightnowit's2.5hours.Theywantplayerstohaveachancetoactuallyreapthebenefitsofthegame.Youhave30-40minutestocapturethebase,andthenit's"owned"forthecooldowntime."Let'ssayHordecapturesthefortress..."brings"FortheHorde!"fromtheaudience."Owning"thebaseopensupDailyQuests,aportalinDalarantoWintergrasp,andauniqueraidinstancejustforthewinningfaction-there'saraidbossthathasawideselectionofloot,fromPvPtoPvE.He'llbeonaone-daycooldown,soifyourfactionownsthezone,youcangointhereonceperday.
11:01am:TheotherfeatureislikeSpiritShards-allthebossesacrosstheworldwilldropanewtokenthatyoucanusetobuyitemsfromWintergraspwhenyouownit."Let'ssayAlliancecapturesitthistime.."bringsscatteredboos(andanother"FortheHorde!).Mounts,gear,gems,individualitems,awideselectionofthings.You'llwanttokeepcomingbacktogetitems,bothPvPandPvEgear.
11:03am:Showingvideofromthebetaserversofthezone.Thefortressinthemiddleishuge,andCorysaysit'salldestructible.It'schaos-explosionsandmeleepeopleeverywhere,someemplacedcannons"cherry-picking,"accordingtoCory.
11:05am:You'llneedplayersonthegroundandvehiclesgoingtohaveasuccessfultakeover.Showingavehiclethatcanshootplagueontheground,createsanAoEthatdoesaDoT.Insidethecourtyard,fightingisevencloser."Sohowisthisgoingtorun?"Corysaysthey'vespenttonsoftimemakingsuretheserverscanhandleit,makingsureit'llplaysmoothand"tothelevelthatyouguysexpect."Theraidportalisinsidethekeepitself.
11:07am:NowTomwilltalkaboutthefutureofPvP.Onethingwe'relookingatistweakingtherewardssystem-wewanttosupportallthepeopleplayingPvP,notjustthePvPers.SomethingwehaveintheworksisfindingawaythatwecanmeasurethesuccessofplayersinBGsandWintergrasp,sowecanbalancerewardsfromallthedifferentaspectsofthegame.Wedon'twantthewaytogetthebestgeartobesittingAFKintheBG-wehavetomakesurepeoplearedoingwellandbeingsuccessful.
11:12am:Q%26amp;Atime.Boythatlineislong,plentyofpeoplehavequestions,asyou'dexpect.
11:09am:Ourplayerssaytheyfeelliketheyspendtheirlivesinsidethecities,sowewillhavepeoplebeabletoqueuefromanywhere.Finally,competitiveorguildbattlegrounds("TBD,"saystheslide),buttheywanttotrytogivearena-stylerankingstoperformanceintheBGs.Mixingitupwithotherguildstoshowwho'sthetopdoginBGs.Inthepast,playersorganizedleagues,andthey'dliketofosterthatsenseofcompetition.
11:11am:Wealsowantplayerstobeabletolevelupinthebattlegrounds,kindofmixuplevelingPvEandPvP.XPinadditiontohonor,anddailyquestsupportthrough10-80.
Q:BeingthatHuntersaretheleastrepresentedclass,everybodyacknoledgesthatthere'stwoweaknessesforourclass-pets,andabilitytoshootinmeleerange.Ifweareconsideredacaster,whycan'tweshootsomeoneinmeleerange,ratherthanhavetoswitch,whilecasterscancastanywhere.
Tom:PetsareanadvantageinalotofwaysforHunters-theyhavesomeoff-cooldownabilities,therearealotofpettricks.Whiletheydohavethedrawback,therearebenefits,andit'saquestionoftuningthat.We'retryingtotreadthefinelinebetweenmakingsureit'saviablestrategytokillthepetbutit'llcostyoutotrythattoo.Asformelee-you'reinmail,you'rearmored,youshouldbeabletosurviveenoughtowalkaway,whilecasterscan't.It'safineline,andDisengagemightmakeitmoreinteresting.
Q:IlikewhatI'mseeinghere-meshingthefunofPvPandPvE.There'sanotherproductwithWarinthetitle,andgoodtoseeyou'retakingthegoodcueswhenyouneedto.Anyfaceliftfortheolderbattlegroundstobeefthoseup?
Tom:There'scontentburnoutinPvPcontent,wehaven'tdoneitasmuchasPvE.Originally,playerswerethecontent,wethought.AndWSGyoudothewholelevelingtime.Butratherthangoback,wewanttointroducemoreBGsthanwehaveinthepast.
Q:PallysintheArenas-whatchancedowehaveagainstmages-anyfuturechangestohelpusstayinmeleerange?Boosfromtheaudience.IknewPaladinswouldgetbooed.
A:Abilitiestoknockyououtofmeleearecoreclassabilities.Butwe'rebeefingupsomeofyourabilities-HammerofJusticegetscooldowntweaks,andglyphswillhelpyoucatchupthere,too.
Q:Wintergrasp-therewereabout10millionAlliancetoeveryHorde.Abuffforthefactionwithlesspeople?
A:Cory:Yes,there'sabuffcalledTenacity.Itscalesbasedontheimbalanceofplayers,anditscalesyourdamageoutput,andscalestheincomingdamagedownasapercentage.1/3vs.2/3inthebg,youmightget100%increasetodamageandtake30%damageoverall.Byyourself,youmightevenget300%damage,soyouwillbeahugeforceevenonyourown.Applausefromthecrowd.We'restillkeyingthenumbers-wedon'twantpeoplewith300%damageallthetime-butthat'sourgoal.
Tom:There'sapsychologyofdefeatthathappenswhenyourteamislosing.Wewanttoconvertsomeofthatinto"myteammightbedown,butmanIcangetsomecrazycritsifIgothererightnow."It'sadifferentgameplayexperiencewhenyou'rebehind.
Q:RanksandhowthosewillresetinWintergrasp.IcanstillgetmyHKsifIAFK,sohowwillyoubalancethat?
A:Tom:We'llbanyou(Laughs).Wedon'thaveaforcedgroupingsysteminWintergrasp,sounlessyougroupwithsomeone,youwon'tgetHKsanywayunlessyouparticipate.
Q:FireinOrgrimmar-isthattimed?
A:Cory:it'stimedbutitstartsrightaway,andyou'llseegearsrunningtoshowyouwhenthefightwillstart.
Twomorequestions...
A:Tom:Wewanttomakesurewedon'tchangeArenarulestoomuchsoitfeelsdifferentfromthegame.Consumableshavealreadybeenchangedthere,butwewanttomaintainintegreityasmuchaspossible.There'spotentialforracialbalanceinWotLK.Ifit'sstillaproblemafterthat,we'llreconsider.Smallapplauseforthatone.
Q:Wintergrasp.I'mahealingDruid(boos).BeforeyouwereabletogroupinBGs,itwashardtoheal,willtherebeanymechanicinWintergrasp.
A:Tom:We'veavoidedgroupssofar,mostlybecauseoftheAFKproblem.Ourgroupingsystemwon'tgoabove40playersatthispointeither,soforthemoment,it'sgrouponyourown.
Q:DruidPvP(boos).RestoispowerfulandIwantitnerfed,butIdon'twanttohurtBalanceorFeral.Howcanyoufixthatwithoutkillingtheothertwo.
A:Tom:Wrathisaverydifferentbeastthantheliveservers.Lifebloomlostalotofpower,soyoucan'trelyonit.Therearechanges,alongwiththenewtalents,thatfromthebetatestwe'veseen,Druidsaren'tthedominantforcetheycanbeinsmallerbracketstoday.
GC:We'vechangedthegamequiteabitfromBCtoWotLK.We'vegivenclassesnewabilitiesandchangedoldabilities,sothere'llbenewproblemstodealwith.
Q:Arenasandraces.There'salmostnorepresentationofDraeneiorNightElves(shoutsfromthecrowd).
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