State of DPS in Firelands


[hide]Patch 4.2[/hide] is winding to a close, [hide]patch 4.3[/hide] is on the PTR, and we’ve recently seen Ghostcrawler (lead systems developer) making some public comments about [hide]DPS balance[/hide] in the Developer Watercooler — in particular, discussing the increase of the AP buff for melee classes. All of this makes it a great time to take a look at the state of DPS among all of the specs.

Of course, we don’t have nearly as much data as Blizzard has access to; however, we do have better data than ever before. In particular, the best data source we have comes from raiders who upload raid parses to [hide]World of Logs[/hide], which then makes these tens of thousands of parses available to all of us. Next, we have [hide]Raidbots[/hide], a site that automatically parses this data for us, letting us very easily sort through those massive numbers of raid parses.

One of the things that I think too many players get caught up on with this data is looking at the rankings — and I’ve certainly been guilty of this myself. It’s just so easy to look and say «Hey, my class is ranked 10 of the 22 specs.» But of course, that’s not terribly helpful — after all, I don’t care if I’m ranked 21 if I’m only 50 DPS behind number one.

Join me after the cut as we take a look at a different way of examining the data to see how all the DPS specs are performing in Firelands.

Gallery: [hide]Firelands DPS by spec[/hide][hide][/hide][hide][/hide][hide][/hide][hide][/hide][hide][/hide][hide]Continue reading State of DPS in Firelands[/hide]Filed under: [hide]Raiding[/hide][hide]State of DPS in Firelands[/hide] originally appeared on [hide]WoW Insider[/hide] on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our [hide]terms for use of feeds[/hide].[hide]Permalink[/hide] | [hide]Email this[/hide] | [hide]Comments[/hide]

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Around Azeroth: All shall burn

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Everyone’s scrambling to find the pieces for their transmogrification sets — I know I’ve spent more than my fair share of time cruising the Auction House for anything interesting. But [hide]Mydnight[/hide] of [hide]JSA[/hide] on Caelestrasz (US-H) has it all figured out. Demonic face mask, red robe, winged shoulders, burning shadow horse — time to show those worthless peons of Orgrimmar the true face of terror.

Gallery: [hide]Around Azeroth 3[/hide][hide][/hide][hide][/hide][hide][/hide][hide][/hide][hide][/hide]

Want to see your own screenshot here? Send it to [hide]aroundazeroth@wowinsider.com[/hide]. We strongly prefer full-sized pictures with no UI or names showing. Please include «Azeroth» in the subject line so your email doesn’t get marked as spam, and include your name, guild and server if you want to be credited.
Filed under: [hide]Around Azeroth[/hide][hide]Around Azeroth: All shall burn[/hide] originally appeared on [hide]WoW Insider[/hide] on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our [hide]terms for use of feeds[/hide].[hide]Permalink[/hide] | [hide]Email this[/hide] | [hide]Comments[/hide]

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The Queue: Well, that explains everything

Welcome back to [hide]The Queue[/hide], the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. [hide]Anne Stickney[/hide] totally took this over.

I submit the theory that there is not a question that can’t be answered with the above video. Even if the video doesn’t answer the question directly, it should throw the questioner into such a state of confusion that the question itself will be lost in time.

Moving on!

KrazyKorean728 asked:

Was there ever any reason given for Nalice being removed from Wyrmrest?

And loop_not_defined followed that up with:

Was she removed in the 4.3 PTR as a WotLK quest giver? Because I just did the Dragonblight/Black Dragonflight quests starting with Nalice last week, and I’m absolutely certain I saw her.

Fear not! The answer is simple.[hide]Continue reading The Queue: Well, that explains everything[/hide]Filed under: [hide]The Queue[/hide][hide]The Queue: Well, that explains everything[/hide] originally appeared on [hide]WoW Insider[/hide] on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our [hide]terms for use of feeds[/hide].[hide]Permalink[/hide] | [hide]Email this[/hide] | [hide]Comments[/hide]

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WoW Moviewatch: Class Stereotypes

While we might not admit it, most of us have a stereotype in mind when we think of each class. In [hide]Class Stereotypes[/hide] by [hide]Wowcrendor[/hide], we get a brief opportunity to relive all those misconceptions. The death knight is last because it may be the most accurate of all of them.

This video is fairly classic Wowcrendor at this point. It has a faint kernel of truth, which is what makes the commentary and comedy so effective. The voice acting is fun, and the video efforts serve to highlight the narrative. While the video is fairly straightforward, there’s no unnecessary fluff of extraneous padding. That’s one of Wowcrendor’s best attributes; he keeps the videos fun and concise.

Interested in the wide world of [hide]machinima[/hide]? We have new movies every weekday here on [hide]WoW Moviewatch[/hide]! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at [hide]moviewatch@wowinsider.com[/hide].

Filed under: [hide]WoW Moviewatch[/hide][hide]WoW Moviewatch: Class Stereotypes[/hide] originally appeared on [hide]WoW Insider[/hide] on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our [hide]terms for use of feeds[/hide].[hide] | Permalink[/hide] | [hide]Email this[/hide] | [hide]Comments[/hide]

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The WoW Insider Show Episode 213


Every week, join us as we present you with [hide]The WoW Insider Show[/hide] podcast — an hour’s worth of WoW community discussion covering everything from the week’s top stories here on WoW Insider to emails from our readers and what’s been going on with our particular characters in Azeroth.

This week’s topics include:

[hide]Fangs of the Father[/hide]

[hide]Patch 4.3 End Time dungeon run[/hide]

[hide]Priest gear revealed[/hide]

Want to have your question answered on the air? Email [hide]theshow@wowinsider.com[/hide]!

Get the podcast:

[[hide]iTunes[/hide]] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.

[[hide]RSS[/hide]] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.

[[hide]MP3[/hide]] Download the MP3 directly.

Listen here on the page:


Filed under: [hide]Podcasts[/hide], [hide]WoW Insider Show[/hide][hide]The WoW Insider Show Episode 213[/hide] originally appeared on [hide]WoW Insider[/hide] on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our [hide]terms for use of feeds[/hide].[hide]Permalink[/hide] | [hide]Email this[/hide] | [hide]Comments[/hide]

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Gold Capped: The wild west economy of the patch 4.3 PTR

Every week, WoW Insider brings you [hide]Gold Capped[/hide], in which [hide]Fox Van Allen[/hide] and Basil «[hide]Euripides[/hide]» Berntsen aim to show you how to make money on the auction house. Feed Fox’s ego — or offer him instant bargains — by [hide]emailing him[/hide] or tweeting him at [hide]@foxvanallen[/hide].

One of my all-time favorite television shows as a child was $ale of the Century. It was a simple question-and-answer game show with a twist: All correct answers only awarded contestants with $5. However, at various points in the show, contestants would be given the chance to buy thousands of dollars worth of prizes for next to nothing — a new recliner for $8, a trip to Hawaii for $17.

It was a special economy all its own. A trip to Hawaii could cost $2,176 in one place while costing $17 in another. It’s the same good ol’ U.S. currency — it’s just that $17 has a far greater value in one context than $2,176 has in another.

Like said game, the patch 4.3 PTR operates by a bizarre set of economic rules all its own, if you can even call them rules. It’s the wild west of economies. Anything goes. The fantastic BOE [hide]Mekgineer’s Chopper[/hide] is normally valued at 15,000 gold. But today, on Sale of the Azerothian Century, that Chopper can be yours for only … 1 silver. Or 240,000 gold. Depends on who your seller is.[hide]Continue reading Gold Capped: The wild west economy of the patch 4.3 PTR[/hide]Filed under: [hide]Economy[/hide], [hide]Gold Capped[/hide][hide]Gold Capped: The wild west economy of the patch 4.3 PTR[/hide] originally appeared on [hide]WoW Insider[/hide] on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our [hide]terms for use of feeds[/hide].[hide]Permalink[/hide] | [hide]Email this[/hide] | [hide]Comments[/hide]

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Spiritual Guidance: Patch 4.3 holy priest buffs and more tier 13 set bonuses


Every week, WoW Insider brings you [hide]Spiritual Guidance[/hide] for [hide]discipline[/hide], [hide]holy[/hide] and [hide]shadow[/hide] priests. [hide]Dawn Moore[/hide] covers the healing side of things for discipline and holy priests. She also writes for [hide]LearnToRaid.com[/hide] and produces the [hide]Circle of Healing Podcast[/hide].

You’d really think after all this time Blizzard would have done the obvious and invented some sort of healing [hide]hand grenade[/hide] for holy priests. It could be the little brother of [hide]Lightwell[/hide] or perhaps some sort of talent upgrade to [hide]Holy Nova[/hide] — toss the grenade to a specific location on the dungeon floor and in 10, 15, or whatever seconds, an explosion of AOE healing would nuke the area. Wouldn’t that be fun? Naturally there’d have to be some witty flavor text on the tooltip, but — wait, what day is this? Dawn looks at her calendar. Oh! Uh … Never mind what I just said.

Today, we’ve got to get caught up on patch 4.3 news. We’ve been up to our necks in priest news from patch 4.3 recently. Last week, we got a first look at our [hide]two-piece and four-piece set bonuses[/hide] for priest tier 13; this week, we got a look at the [hide]gear model itself[/hide] and a hefty list of [hide]mostly positive changes[/hide]. We also (shock and awe) already received a few [hide]tweaks to our tier 13 set bonuses[/hide], so there is quite a lot to tackle today. First, let’s talk fashion.[hide]Continue reading Spiritual Guidance: Patch 4.3 holy priest buffs and more tier 13 set bonuses[/hide]Filed under: [hide]Priest[/hide], [hide](Priest) Spiritual Guidance[/hide][hide]Spiritual Guidance: Patch 4.3 holy priest buffs and more tier 13 set bonuses[/hide] originally appeared on [hide]WoW Insider[/hide] on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our [hide]terms for use of feeds[/hide].[hide]Permalink[/hide] | [hide]Email this[/hide] | [hide]Comments[/hide]

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Weekly Podcast Roundup: Sept. 26-Oct. 2, 2011

Every Monday evening, WoW Insider brings you a long list of WoW podcasts that were published the week and weekend before. If you don’t see your favorite World of Warcraft podcast listed, just let us know in the comments. Be sure to leave a link to it, and we’ll pick it up next week.

All podcasts and content belong to their owners. WoW Insider is not responsible for what you hear, and some of the content may not be safe for work.

[hide]All Things Azeroth[/hide] Rogues, it gives you Wings!

[hide]The Instance[/hide] Your dongle is showing

[hide]Rawrcast[/hide] We Know People That Know Stuff
[hide]Continue reading Weekly Podcast Roundup: Sept. 26-Oct. 2, 2011[/hide]Filed under: [hide]Podcasting[/hide], [hide]Weekly Podcast Roundup[/hide][hide]Weekly Podcast Roundup: Sept. 26-Oct. 2, 2011[/hide] originally appeared on [hide]WoW Insider[/hide] on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our [hide]terms for use of feeds[/hide].[hide]Permalink[/hide] | [hide]Email this[/hide] | [hide]Comments[/hide]

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Patch 4.3 PTR: New interface for reforging

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I know that there’s wisdom in the adage «if it’s not broken, don’t fix it,» but there are times when I’m very glad that Blizzard doesn’t adhere to that philosophy. Case in point: the new reforging interface on the 4.3 PTR this week.

I’m a chronic reforger. I’ve spent many a lonely night at Godan’s Runeworks in Orgrimmar, turning crit into hit and haste into mastery. The reforging interface on live is a boring brown and black box, with pulldown menus to help you choose the stats you want to reforge to. While the reforging interface served its purpose well, Blizzard has made some excellent changes to it for 4.3 to make it significantly more user-friendly.

Whereas on live, you use a pull-down box to choose the stat you wanted to reforge from and then another pull-down box to choose what you want to reforge into, the PTR reforger has all your options presented in the same frame, making reforging faster and easier. It also is now a shiny purple color, much preferable to the drab darkness of the live version. It now features a reminder on your reforged items that you’ll need to undo the stat change to reforge again, which is helpful for the airhead in me who sometimes accidentally restores the wrong item.

Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with [hide]patch 4.3[/hide]. Review the [hide]official patch notes[/hide], and then dig into what’s ahead: new [hide]item storage options[/hide], [hide]cross-realm raiding[/hide], [hide]cosmetic armor skinning[/hide] and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing — from [hide]astride his back[/hide]!

Filed under: [hide]News items[/hide], [hide]Cataclysm[/hide][hide]Patch 4.3 PTR: New interface for reforging[/hide] originally appeared on [hide]WoW Insider[/hide] on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our [hide]terms for use of feeds[/hide].[hide]Permalink[/hide] | [hide]Email this[/hide] | [hide]Comments[/hide]

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Patch 4.3 PTR: Chaos orbs no longer soulbound


An important crafting change has just been pushed live on the public test realms. [hide]Patch 4.3[/hide] will finally lift the soulbound restriction on [hide]Chaos Orbs[/hide], allowing players to freely trade them and roll on them at the end of heroic instances. No mention was made of whether or not orbs will be purchasble with valor or justice points, but only that they will be free-rolled when they drop.

Back in Wrath of the Lich King, [hide]Frozen Orbs[/hide] were not initially soulbound but lost their restrictions and [hide]need-roll exclusivity[/hide] over the course of the expansion. It was assumed that the same thing would happen to Chaos Orbs as time went on and, lo and behold, it has. Crafters will have to adjust prices accordingly now that a rare component will become less rare.[hide]Continue reading Patch 4.3 PTR: Chaos orbs no longer soulbound[/hide]Filed under: [hide]Cataclysm[/hide][hide]Patch 4.3 PTR: Chaos orbs no longer soulbound[/hide] originally appeared on [hide]WoW Insider[/hide] on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our [hide]terms for use of feeds[/hide].[hide] | Permalink[/hide] | [hide]Email this[/hide] | [hide]Comments[/hide]

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