Wednesday 3 February 2010

Patch 3.3.2 and the Auction House

There are two exciting things going on today.  I'm a bit late on both of them, but one is that Patch 3.3.2 dropped last night and is now live, and the other is that Blizzard have announced that you will soon be able to access the Auction House through the Armory and in the iPhone Armory app.

Patch 3.3.2
You can always find the latest patch notes here.

The major news for this patch is the opening of the Frostwing Halls, the final wing of Icecrown Citadel and the wing containing the Fat-Boy Lich King himself.  The spoiler video has been released but I haven't watched it yet.  I probably will, but only because if (when) I get the opportunity to see it in-game, I will be too busy celebrating over having killed him that I doubt I'd appreciate it.

The final boss in the Vault of Archavon, Toravon the Ice Watcher, has also been released. There's plenty of information around about how to defeat him - a good starting point is the Toravon WowWiki page.  Free T-10 gloves and legs?  Yes please!

A bunch of boss encounters in heroics have been changed.  I wouldn't call them nerfs exactly - more streamlining measures, and I welcome them.  At the current dps output of most people in heroics these days, someone like Jadoga Shadowseeker in Old Kingdom spends more time in the air than she does on the ground being hit.  It doesn't solve the issue of heroics being too easy compared to the massive rewards you can buy with emblems these days, but I hope it solves whatever was making people drop group rather than do the  heroics in question.

There was some nice news for Balance Druids:
  • Balance
    • Earth and Moon: This talent now increases the druid's spell damage by 2/4/6%, up from 1/2/3%.
Oh yeah, MORE DEEPS!  In the Blizzard Developer chat last week they did say there were buffs coming and they have delivered. 
The party leader is now referred to as Guide in chat when a group is formed via the Dungeon Finder.
Eh?  What was wrong with being the leader?  Did I miss something here?
Tier-9 Sets: The Aspirant vendors at the Argent Tournament grounds have worked out a deal with merchants in Dalaran so that all item level 232 set pieces will now be available on armor vendors in the city. Set pieces which require trophies will still be available for purchase only from vendors at the Argent Tournament grounds.
That's awesome.  One more reason never to leave Dalaran.
Tier-10 Balance Druid 4-Piece Bonus: Fixed a bug to allow for this bonus to properly trigger.
I had heard around the place that something was wrong with the proc on the set.  It might be a long time before Leesah sees any T10 but it's nice to know it will work when she gets it!


Armory to Include Auction House

This announcement appeared yesterday in this blue post from Bornakk.  Basically, we are going to be able to access the Auction House through the Armory or the Armory App on the iPhone.

Now is it just me, or is it taking part of the game out of the game?  I mean, I have enough distractions at work without actually being able to play part of the game there.  What's next?  Some kind of fishing app that lets you do the Stranglethorn Fishing Comp on your iPhone? 

The post does say that some parts of the service might be premium-based.  As Matticus said in his post on the subject, this will possibly mean that we'll be able to browse the AH for free, but might have to pay real money in order to be able to purchase anything.  It will be interesting to see how this develops - it might take the debate on micro-transactions to a new level.

Would I use it?  Probably.  Would I pay for it?  I'm not so sure.  Would you?
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