Cranberry

One of the faction descriptions apparently mentions Varian Wyrnn commanding. Hail to the King.

 

Fiola

Would the talent improve 20% of the +dmg/healing? Or are they still considered separate stats?

 

Liebestod

That's my major question. If so, then SPriests and other classes with this talent would essentially recieve a +20% damage bonus, and it would make it so that +dmg/heal would still be more valuable, which arguably defeats the point.

 

Prinsesa

I'd have to say no, it wouldn't improve 20% of +dmg/healing.

If it did, +dmg items would still be more valuable than +healing, which completely invalidates the point of the talent in the first place, whereas converting only 20% of pure healing to damage makes healing items give roughly the same amount of damage as damage items.

Yes, they're considered separate stats, or at least as far as the game engine considers them. Look at [Windhawk Bracers] and the like, which have both pure healing (plus the 33% conversion) and dmg/healing on the same item.

===========

I find the Fury Warrior changes to be extremely interesting.

Intensify Rage increases rage gained from taking damage, but a PvE DPS class should rarely take damage at all. Similarly, Furious Resolve increases STA, which isn't really a PvE stat (outside of strict AOE damage requirements).

Finally, we have Bloodsurge allowing Slam to be used on the move (assuming it reduces cast time to 0) after a Bloodthirst crit, Titan's Grip allowing for some very nasty burst with a double two-hander WW and another weapon damage-based attack from Heroic Leap.

All of this seems to point towards Fury being nudged toward PvP viability. It'll be intriguing to see if all this burst potential is going to be worth losing MS, Bladestorm's cannot-be-stopped effect and Bull Rush's extra stun.

For one thing, it's encouraging to see how Blizzard is going to entice players away from using the extra 10 talents to get MS and BT at the same time by making some REALLY good 51 point talents.

"We do want Sanctuary to be the tanking seal"

- Ghostcrawler

 

tedv

I don't know for sure. I just theorize that if the 20% only applies to the pure healing items, it makes their total spell damage contribution the same as an equivalent spell damage item.

 

Cranberry

!!!

From the info wiki:

The Ashbringer...

 

flyingtoastr

Getting off topic again, the wiki page has some interesting pictures of Stormwind Harbor. I could see this balancing out how easy it is to travel across continents for horde (zeplins right outside capitals) versus alliance (Menethil/Theramore in the middle of nowhere), though from a lore perspective it makes no sense as Stormwind is supposed to be wedged between mountains and a forest. Maye the gnomes built a big canal or something (it would explain why VanCleef was building a giant ship to get revenge on a landlocked city).


YAY! On of my favorite "new" characters from WoW lore. We also have Tirion Fordring making a new Order of the Silver hand. Conflicting factions a la Scryers/Aldor maybe?

Divine Favor still costs mana.

 

Cranberry

Nah, the new conflicting factions are the Sholazar ones. I can't imagine Fordring, of all people, getting caught up in rivalries on the Lich King's doorstep.

 

PsyBomb

I'm assuming the thing everyone is now looking at is what a Fury warrior is capable of while wielding a pair of massive, slow 2H weapons. For reference, let's say [Brutal Gladiator's Bonegrinder]. While it is true that this can result in absurd amounts of burst in the right situation (WW-BT-Slam is about 2200 points instantly, without factoring possible crits... or the effect of AP on those 4 strikes), you start running into MAJOR rage issues when each hand only attacks once every 4.32 seconds (remember the 20% attack speed penalty, assuming that's what it ends up as). Sure, each attack is worth obscene amounts of rage generated when they land, but a single miss can and will set you back to nothing.

Assuming you get hit-capped and expertise-capped, though... someone with enough rage to be using WW-BT-Slam on every cooldown is going to NEED that extra threat reduction

EDIT: My apologies, I did the math for this having just woken up from a nap, and I forgot about quite a few things. Correct math is in my next post

To teach and to learn, to laugh and make others laugh. This is my purpose, and any day in which I don't wasn't worth the time it took to get through.

 

Cranberry

Psy, did you factor in the OH damage penalty in that?

 

Emeraude

Hopefully the comic will have put out issue 12 by then, which will no doubt be the lead in for WotLK.

 

Cranberry

What is this comic people keep mentioning?

 

flyingtoastr

Ahh pity. I would love to see Fordring and Morgraine in a cinematic together (maybe the Arthas battle!).

Here's the factions as listed by the wiki:

Alliance

Valiance Expedition - The main armies of the Alliance in Northrend, moving against the Scourge and unified under King Varian Wrynn's command.
The Silver Covenant - A militant core of high elves that rejects the admission of blood elves into the Kirin Tor. They've united under the banner of Vereesa Windrunner and joined the Alliance forces in Northrend.
Explorer's League - This organization seeks to find the origin of the dwarven race by collecting Titan artifacts. Their most recent research has led them to various archeological sites in Northrend.

Horde

The Taunka - These hardy people are cousins of the Tauren and have become valuable scouts for the armies of the Horde as they march northward.
The Hand of Vengeance - The Forsaken tasked by Sylvanas Windrunner with enacting Undercity's vengeance against Arthas by delivering the latest strain of their deadly Plague.
Warsong Offensive - Garrosh Hellscream commands the Horde's main expeditionary forces as they make their way into Northrend to face Arthas and the armies of the Scourge.

Neutral

The Kalu'ak - The tuskarr are a tough but peaceful people who derive their livelihood from fishing and whaling. Their settlements have recently come under fierce attack and welcome any allies who would come to their aid.
Kirin Tor - The mages and archmages running the city of Dalaran. Faced with the rising threats of the Blue Dragonflight and the Scourge, they've transported their city to the heart of Northrend.
The Wyrmrest Accord - With the Blue Dragonflight's violent upheaval against all mortal users of magic, the remaining dragonflights have banded under the leadership of the Red Dragonflight to combat their wayward kin.
Knights of the Ebon Blade - Freed from the grasp of the Lich King, his former Deathknights have regrouped against him under the banner of Highlord Darion Mograine.

Awesome to see them returning to some of the old world lore like the Explorer's League and New Undead Plague lines.

Divine Favor still costs mana.

 

Ngita

I would have thought you would walk/lift down from Stormwind to get to Stormwind Harbor. Perhaps a very short & steep Gryphon ride. I did spend considerable time climbing hills in Elywnn forest and swimming around in original beta to see If I could get behind Stormwind as it didnt seem that far from the coast

 

Cranberry

You can, but it requires going over the hills from the Burning Steppes. It looks like the harbor is reachable from the main city by walking though, what makes you think otherwise?

 

flyingtoastr

According to... well, everything Stormwind is a landlocked city. A harbor suddenly appearing without any route out of the city doesn't make a huge amount of sense, though the Westfall coast is close enough that there could be a short "ride" to the harbor to preserve continuity.

But hey, this is the game that invented Space Goats, lore be damned.

Divine Favor still costs mana.

 

Rz

Just for the sake of clarity I should probably confess that I was the one who created the screenshot you are linking there. Those are all totally fake, although I did think I did a decent job of predicting what Blizzard might do. Any similarity between that screenshot and the actual eventual warrior talents was purely a matter of luck on my part.

And no, I did not create and fake info in the current alpha wave, which is either (1) real or (2) a far better fake than I ever bothered to make.

 

Liebestod

The SW harbor is right behind the Cathedral district, more towards the Park district.

 

PsyBomb

yes, though I was keying off of the top-end damage and forgot that Bloodthirst doesn't depend on weapon damage... though 2H weapons will inevitably have LOADS more AP than their 1H contemporaries. I can't make an accurate stab at what the Bloodthirst numbers will look like without an AP number to base on, so for now I'll say 2400 AP. This is a low estimate for sure, but it gives a decent reference for the numbers (still using the same weapon, [Brutal Gladiator's Bonegrinder])

2400 AP is 171.43 DPS

Weapon speed is 3.6, so the damage contribution comes to 617 damage contributed. Rages come to 1021-1223, average strike is 1122 main, 841 off.

Bloodthirst deals 45(AP)/100 damage on use, meaning it strikes for 1080 in this case.

WW-BT-Slam comes to 1122, 841, 1080, and 1262 damage, totaling 4305 damage over the course of 2 GCDs. Once again, this is low-estimate at 70, and assumes that Slam becomes instant off a Bloodthirst when the talent is maxxed.

EDIT: Forgot DW specialization, which every Fury with half a brain takes.

To teach and to learn, to laugh and make others laugh. This is my purpose, and any day in which I don't wasn't worth the time it took to get through.

 

Axl_Stukov

Regarding this Knights of the Ebon Blade faction, if Highlord Mograine is leading it, then were already down to 3 horsemen in Naxxramas aren't we?

Joking aside, these new factions sound exciting... aside from the fact that the King of Stormwind has apparently Jail Break!'d himself out of dustwallow and into northrend.

 

Cranberry

Different Mograine. This is presumably the other son mentioned in the Ashbringer SM Cath event.

 

orcsgotbooty

Flurry and enrage still linked >_< why does blizz feel the need to make fury warriors throw 5 talent points in the trash?

Edit: What I said after this was due to my lack of knowing how to count.... 19..20...31 WOOPS

 

Prinsesa

This ups my hopes for a new, uncorrupted Ashbringer all the more, since it's presumably this other son who can reforge it.

"We do want Sanctuary to be the tanking seal"

- Ghostcrawler

 

meringue

The comic being published by DC which is currently following the misadventures of Varian Wrynn through the arena circuit with a belf and a nelf.

 

Emeraude

I've been holding on to this bloody sword for a year and a half [Corrupted Ashbringer] 2 years come the expansion. It better give me something! *Shakes fist in the air @ Blizz devs*