This is the Monday, March 19th edition of Blue Watch, covering threads on the General, PvP, Raids & Dungeons, and UI & Macros forums. There's also a change to the layout of Blue Watch; you can now jump directly to the topic by clicking on the "Go to thread" link in the header for the topic, in the list below. Additionally, there is now a Blue Watch page on the Curse World of Warcraft wiki, with a Table of Contents containing question topics, clickable to go directly to the related question, as well as a "Go to thread" link for quick access to that topic's thread on the World of Warcraft official forums.
This Week In Hot Fixes 3/13 - 3/18Go to thread
In this thread, Tseric lists all of the hot fixes for the past week in World of Warcraft.
> A listing of hot fixes applied this week. Check back for updates!
>
> 3/16/07
>
> The haste effect from the Mongoose enchantment no longer reduces damage.
>
> 3/13/07:
>
> Party members should now see pet health bars update properly. This hotfix will take effect after a realm is restarted following the hotfix's deployment.
>
> Several issues in Serpentshrine Cavern have been corrected. The Lurker Below should always spawn.
Official Top .5% Arena Response?Go to thread
In this thread, Drysc responds with an answer about whether or not the rumored change to how Netherdrake Arena Mounts will be handed out is true.
> It was indeed changed to the top .5% of teams in each battlegroup; however the change was actually made prior to the start of the arena season. I'm not sure if that would be considered recent or not, but in any case that's how it works now.
Later in the thread he adds:
> Well yeah, it's a percentage.
>
> Say you have 1000 5v5 teams on your battlegroup, but by the end of the season that's swelled to 1800 teams.
>
> You would have had 5 teams from the 5v5 receiving the end-of-season rewards (.5% of 1000), but since it ballooned up to 1800 there are now 9 that are going to get it (.5% of 1800). That of course doesn't account for the 2v2 and 3v3 teams in the battlegroup, it's the top .5% of each bracket/team size.
>
> Also to elaborate on a previous comment these end-of-season rewards don't entitle the top teams to anything that would help further them in the arenas, unless of course you count striking fear into your opponents. The rewards are a title, and of course the armored nether drake.
He goes on to add the following:
>> So basically what you're saying is, unless you are part of one of the top raiding guilds battlegroup wide, you might as well not waste your time.
>
> You're still going to be able to get some of the best items in the game even if you aren't in the top .5%. As far as being in a raiding guild being a requirement, that's certainly debatable and likely disproven, especially with the less-than-optimal stats PvE rewards have in a PvP environment. I think there's more emphasis on effort in working to be the best which in turn usually places those types of people in the top guilds, and not the other way around.
>
> The arenas are cutthroat gladiatorial style battles, it's about climbing to the top through sheer effort and will. It isn't about feeling sorry for yourself when the odds are against you. If you're going to take that approach then I agree, don't waste your time.
Why isn't there a DVD version of WoW/WoWBCGo to thread
In this thread, Drysc tries to offer tips for creating your own DvD, as there isn't a version for normal copies of World of Warcraft and World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.
> The Collector's Editions contain DVD's, so that's a possible solution if you can find a copy. You can also create your own DVD by copying all of the Tome files into a single directory and then burning the contents of that directory as a DVD. Instructions on how to copy those files can be found here http://www.blizzard.com/support/wow/?id=aww01635p but the burning portion you'll have to figure out yourself with whatever software you use to do so. I believe you can also still obtain demo discs from some retailers, for the original game only of course, for a dollar or two.
Later in the thread he adds:
> The original game now comes with 5 I believe, so that would be 9 CD's when reinstalling the full game. The OP was quite right. You have a DVD if you own the Collector's Edition though.
>
> When creating your own DVD from the CD's you already own, as I outlined and linked to, the game installs exactly the same as it would if you had the Collector's Edition DVD. Seamless.
And a bit more information, this time about the WoW -> WoW: TBC install process:
> Nope, the expansion will take you directly from a fresh World of Warcraft installation to Burning Crusade with no need for updates inbetween. Like I said, seamless. You could probably also fit some of the post-BC patches on the DVD, to make it even easier to get in and playing.
In this thread, Tseric answers a question about the Riding Crop and what it stacks with.
> It doesn't stack with other things, like Carrot on a Stick. It was designed as a consolidation of movement increase items to reduce inventory clutter.
New Oceanic realms, please?Go to thread
In this thread, Tseric explains that there are no plans currently to open new realms.
> We have no plans to open new realms at this time. It is always under consideration and we will let you know when we feel it is appropriate to open new realms.
Draenei still not flagged in all quests? Go to thread
In this thread, Tseric shares info on an upcoming Felwood quest fix for Draenei characters.
> The fix for this has been developed, but hasn't been implemented as of yet. It's going in with the upcoming content patch.
Auction House Woes - Fix Our Auction HouseGo to thread
In this thread, Tseric makes note of an issue with the Auction House interface, and also makes the poster aware of the proper channels to take when reporting issues in the future.
> I can make a note of this and pass it on to QA. In the future, I would recommend posting this on the Bug Report forum, following the appropriate formatting guidelines for that forum.
What is On-Topic in the General forums?Go to thread
In this thread, Tseric tries to answer the question of what's appropriate for the General forums.
> There usually is a better place to post something, yes. However, some topics can touch on a number of specifically outlined subjects or, perhaps, none at all. If it is primarily about World of Warcraft and isn't ultimately suited for a more specific forum, General is the way to go.
Lackadaisical approach to bugs/exploitsGo to thread
In this thread, Nethaera responds to comments on Blizzard's approach to fixing Bugs and Exploits.
> I disagree with your feeling that bugs and exploits are treated in a lackadaisical way. Of course, I see what goes on from the inside and see all the bugs that are fixed on a daily basis. We may not always list them all but as you may have noticed, we list as many as possible in the patch notes as well as have recently started listing hotfixes on the forums for people.
>
> There is a process that must be done which includes first identifying that something is in fact a bug, then the team must be able to reproduce the bug (some are not so easily reproduceable), then they need to track down the exact mechanics that are causing the bug. After all of that, they must find a way to fix the bug in a way that doesn't cause problems elsewhere. Some bugs are fairly simple fixes and some are a bit more complex and have other issues associated with them that need to be all addressed at the same time which delays the fix for the first thing.
>
> It's easy to sit on the outside and pass judgement because a bug that you take issue with hasn't been fixed in the timeframe you feel it should be. The reality of delays however can give a whole new viewpoint.
Why does blocking suck in WoW?Go to thread
In this thread, Drysc explains why the Block skill is different in WoW than other games.
> So it sucks because it serves a slightly lesser purpose than it might in another game? Hrm. That doesn't actually make any sense.
>
> It's a different game, and different mechanics function differently depending on how the abilities are intended to be balanced around each other. Blocking may not mitigate a huge chunk of damage, but aside from the block canceling the chance for a critical or crushing blow (both huge advantages in their own right) shields obviously offer a clear advantage for damage mitigation. Now if you were to say change the block mechanic just so you saw a higher number blocked, then the balance would be to probably reduce stats on the shield or overall increase damage.
>
> I don't see how re-balancing so we end up at the same conclusion but just with a bigger (xxx blocked) number counts for. Tom-ay-to to-mah-to really, you know? As far as in relation to other games, the mechanic is just different. Just making huge block numbers pop up for the sake of seeing huge numbers isn't really necessary, especially in an MMO when you have to design with future scaling in mind.
How do you pronounce "Auchindoun"?Go to thread
In this thread, Drysc explains how to pronounce the dungeon name Auchindoun.
> Aw-kin-doon
>
> Or if you want to put the right amount of phlegm behind it:
>
> Augh-kin-doon
In this thread, Drysc posts the top 5v5 Arena Team for each Battlegroup.
Add 10-15 quests to Old HillsbradGo to thread
In this thread, Tigole hints that there may be more content coming to Old Hillsbrad, and Caverns of Time in general, in the future.
> We'd love to add more quests to this zone. Hopefully, time will permit in the future.
>
> We have some pretty cool ideas for Caverns of Time.
In this thread, Tigole announces an upcoming change to the way Seduction works in instances, primarily Heroics, to make using it a more viable means of Crowd Control.
> In an upcoming content patch (2.1.0) Warlocks will be able to use their succubus to seduce many humanoid creatures which are currently immune to charm effects.
Later on he adds:
> To clarify, the creatures do too much damage to allow them to be charmed (whether it be by a priest or by an engineer). Seducing them does not threaten the balance of the dungeon.
>
> This will mostly effect heroics. And it only makes things able to be seduced -- it doesn't make anything immune to mind control that was previously charmable. It's not a nerf for priests. It's a bonus for Warlocks.
addons in Vista, lua saved variablesGo to thread
In this thread, Datth, a Technical Support Rep. helps out a player having trouble with AddOns while using the Windows Vista operating system.
> Hi Luckyshot,
>
> Yes, Vista will attempt to store all of those files in the VirtualStore folder as long as the game is in the Program Files folder. You can try moving the game folder out of there (maybe to your root C:\ drive) to have it work normally.
Bug: "/use <inventory#>" breaks with modifierGo to thread
In this thread, Slouken comments that this is actually intended, rather than a bug.
> Yes, shift is processed internally by the item code, and shouldn't be used by item macros.
Later in the thread he shares a bit about what the /use command actually does:
> When you do /use 13, in effect you're clicking on the item in the UI, which does extra processing over requesting the item by name. Yes, it's a bit inconsistent, but I don't know if it'll be high enough priority to fix anytime soon.
>
> Thanks for mentioning it though, I'll add it to my someday todo list. :)
