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Here are some clarifications to a few common questions we're seeing.

Regarding how the raid dungeons will share the same lockout. This means that you cannot do separate instances in the same week. If you defeat an encounter in 10 player normal mode then you are locked to the 10 player mode of that dungeon for that week and can flip between 10 player normal and 10 player heroic on a per boss basis (assuming heroic is available). In this scenario you cannot do the 25 player version. Is this correct?

Correct. There should be no circumstances under which you kill a boss more than once per week on the same character. However, in the same way that you can decide on a per-boss basis whether to try normal vs. hard mode, we might allow you to change between 10 and 25 on a per-encounter basis for additional flexibility. If you started a raid in 25-player mode and then found that you couldn’t get everyone together later in the week, you might be able to downsize the next few bosses to 10-player.

Will legendary items be available through 10 player dungeons? How about special mounts like Invincible?

In some of these specific cases, the answer is that we just don’t know yet. We’re going to have to walk a fine line between dropping the same items in both 10- and 25-player modes, versus still offering something extra for the 25s. If we over-reward the 25s, then players who like 10-player raiding will still feel compelled to find more warm bodies. If we don’t provide any extra incentive for 25s, then some players may stop playing with their friends in order to avoid the extra organization required for a large raid.

Overall, our goal is that you make the decision between whether to raid with 10 players or 25 players based on what you find fun and not because of the reward structure.

For perspective, it might help to look back at how we changed lockouts and hard modes on every single raid tier of Wrath of the Lich King to see what felt right and try to fix problems that arose from previous tiers. After seeing the first tier of Cataclysm raiding, we may decide to adjust our design for the next tier.

How many pieces of loot will drop for 10 and 25 player modes respectively?

When we say “25 should drop more loot,” we’re just sharing a philosophy. You shouldn’t assume that this means that 10-player modes will drop 1 item or that 25-player modes will drop 6 items, or whatever. We haven’t finalized how much loot will drop, but our general goal is that 25s should drop more to help make up for some of the logistical cost.

Will achievements be broken down by 10/25 modes? Will realm first achievements/titles be only for 25s? Will meta-achievement mounts be available for both versions still?

There will just be raid achievements, not 10- vs. 25-player versions in most cases. The achievement won’t care if you complete it in 10s or 25s. If we do meta-achievement mounts, it’s possible we’d still have different colors of mounts, or maybe even different mounts; but for some players that might mean that 25s feels mandatory again, which would be a potential problem. This is the kind of thing we’re going to have to consider carefully, and again, we might try a few different implementations before sticking with something we like.

We’re also not sure about realm first achievements or titles. We don’t want to encourage, say, 25-player focused guilds to run a 10-player raid instead because they think that will get them the ream first title faster. One potential solution is you can earn a realm first title in 10 or 25, but not both. These types of achievements also serve as great content for guild achievements.

reading through this shit, don't i recall them radically changing stats on things for cataclysm? like arpen/expertise/hit/ap/etcetcetcetc ?

isn't it going back to just agi/sta/int/spi/str [listed in order of relevance to hunter, ofc]

Some of the modifier stats are being completely removed.

some but not all?

i still think they've probably thought through the issues of plate healing gear with no paladin etc for cataclysm

perhaps a vendor of some sort where you can trade equivalent pieces for things [not tokens or trophies, but if for example plate healing gear drops sans paladin, you can loot it to a dk or something and they can trade for a dps or tank piece or ]

i think it's gotta be a relatively simple thing that they're coming up with considering the increasing casual-ity of the game

thats been suggested but i dont think its actually being implemented

considering homogenization of most all other gear, plate healing gear and maybe mail spellpower gear would be the only pieces you could really see go to waste often

i don't really know i havent followed much of anything that's happening with it i just figured it is going to be something simple

the game is simple now and getting simpler

Simpletons! You cannot comprehend the forces you have set in motion. The ley line conduit will not be disrupted! Your defeat shall be absolute!

thought they were gonna let you change a state on gear with the new profession (for lack of better term)

ya, a portion of it

reforging or something

say a piece has 3 stats, you can halve one of those and add it to another stat that isnt currently on the item

blind_chief = MT & Raid Leader (Warrior)
___ = Tank (Paladin)

bobdave = DPS (Warlock)
Lobb = DPS (Hunter)
MoS. = DPS (DK)
notkeith = DPS (Shaman)
HilbsMyNigga = DPS(Mage)

Smocked = Healer / DPS (Priest)
stingercomp = Healer (Paladin)
Spencer = Healer (Druid)

gary wouldnt tank
spencer wouldnt heal
bobdave is a faggot
stinger comp lol
lol joe guild leader

wat

the master plan, the final solution, etc

1) i would be a rogue for maximum griefing
2) i would be raid leader

That works for me. When you yell it's scary, so I think that would be good.

I'll tank then.

Things are figured out, we've made them work, Spencer can DPS and Bobdave can play his awesome Resto Druid.

Bring the player not the class.

Every class has something as game breaking as Bloodlust, am I right?

We're continuing to refine the badge/emblem and PvP point systems in Cataclysm and we'd like to share some of those changes with you today. Please enjoy!

Our primary goal when approaching badges in Cataclysm is to address a lot of the confusion that comes with these currency systems. To that end we're changing badges to a more straightforward point system, similar to the ones we've used for a while for Arenas and Battlegrounds. There will be a total of four types of points you can earn in Cataclysm (two for PvE and two for PvP), and these will remain the same even as we introduce new content.

Here's the breakdown:

PvE
Hero Points -- Low-tier, easier-to-get PVE points. Maximum cap to how many you can own, but no cap to how quickly you can earn them. Earned from most dungeons. (most like the current Emblem of Triumph)
Valor Points -- High-tier, harder-to-get PvE points. Maximum cap to how many you can own, as well as a cap to how many you can earn per week. Earned from Dungeon Finder daily Heroic and from raids. (most like the current Emblem of Frost)

PvP
Honor Points -- Low-tier, easier-to-get PVP points. There will be a maximum cap to how many you can own, but no cap to how quickly you can earn them. Earned from most PvP activities.
Conquest Points -- High-tier, harder-to-get PvP points. There will be a maximum cap to how many you can own, and a cap to how many you can earn per week. Earned from winning Rated Battlegrounds or Arenas. (currently called Arena Points)

When a new tier of raiding gear is released or a new PvP season begins, your higher tier of points will be converted into the lower tier. For instance, if a new tier of raid gear is released, your Valor points will be converted to Hero points, and similarly if a new PvP season begins your Conquest points will be converted to Honor points. Of course that means with these new releases you'll always begin without any of the higher tier of points, and thus be unable to stockpile them.

As noted for Conquest points, the Rated Battlegrounds and Arenas will be sharing this same point type. Because of that, it will in fact be possible to get the best PvP items without setting foot in Arena; however, more powerful armor and weapons will of course require more Conquest points, so players who win their matches more often will still gear up faster. We're removing personal rating requirements on almost all items; they're definitely removed for weapons. We might offer a few items to the absolute best players based on personal rating, largely as cosmetic or 'bragging rights' type items. And you'll have the option of purchasing the previous season’s gear with the more readily available Honor points.

We do plan to have a way to convert Honor points (PvP) into Hero points (PvE), and vice versa, at a loss. The conversions will be possible, but it won't be a 1:1 rate, and you'll have fewer points after the conversion process. We won't allow the higher tiers to be exchanged for each other, however.

To explain the reasoning for the weekly cap on points for the higher tiers, this is to provide flexibility in how players choose to earn the points without feeling like they have to do all of the content as often as it is available. If your Valor income from raiding is sufficient, you may not feel the need to run Dungeon Finder every night, or perhaps even at all. Likewise, a PvP player could choose to participate in a lot of Rated Battlegrounds but no Arenas, or focus on both, and still be able to earn the points they want.

We realize that with any changes to progression pathways there are going to be questions. We're eagerly awaiting any that we may have left unanswered. To the comments!

>We're removing personal rating requirements on almost all items; they're definitely removed for weapons.

SWEET

To explain the reasoning for the weekly cap on points for the higher tiers, this is to provide flexibility in how players choose to earn the points without feeling like they have to do all of the content as often as it is available. If your Valor income from raiding is sufficient, you may not feel the need to run Dungeon Finder every night, or perhaps even at all. Likewise, a PvP player could choose to participate in a lot of Rated Battlegrounds but no Arenas, or focus on both, and still be able to earn the points they want.

loosely translated

if you do the daily heroic, you get 75% of the badges that someone who full clears 25 man top tier raids weekly

loosely translated #2

if you grind the shit out of rated bgs, you get 75% of the arena points that a 2800 rated arena team gets weekly

[and can buy the same gear because theres no skill requirement whatsoever]

this means WoW:Cataclysm will actually need to be fun, people cant derive fun from being better than other people any more

and that is the hidden gem of it all

i need to make an almighty /v/ wow thread about this tonight

there will be much trolling to be had

Link

after class

i wish i was a photoshop pro and could make the wow:cataclysm logo into wow:socialism

Duped