Release Date / Pool Results:
Well it is official. Wrath of the Lich King will be released Thursday November 13th. Some of you may remember I started a little pool, for everyone to guess when the expansion would be released. The winner is:
Gnomerggedon from Armaggedon’s coming. It sounds like his win is a little bitter sweet, because he will be going on vacation for 2 months starting on the 13th. Don't worry, though. WoW will still be here when you get back and you won't have to deal with the crowd trying to kill mobs and such. For the last expansion I got graylo to 60 in early march. Questing was easy, and I could still get lots of groups for instances. Have fun on your vacation.
Time to Panic:
A lot of people are probably rejoicing at the announcement. For high end raiders and casual players this is one of the few times they agree on something. Both are thinking: "WOOT!!! NEW CONTENT".
However, there is another group out there for whom this is a very depressing announcement. We are a group of people with unfulfilled goals. For whatever circumstances we have not been able to complete a couple of tasks for which we have been striving.
Some of you may be saying: "Hey, we still have 2 months. That is plenty of time to finish things up." Well, that's not completely true. Some time between now and Nov 13th, Patch 3.0.2 will drop. If you weren't here for the release of BC, this is the patch that gets WoW ready for the expansion. It will change everything. All of those changes to the talent trees, abilities, and other things will take affect with Patch 3.0.2. Also, some of the rewards from BC will become unavailable. That means no more Bear Mounts from ZA. No more titles from completing the Attunments for SSC, TK, Hyjal, and BT.
After the patch drops the game will change completely. If you raid, there are some bosses you've had on Farm that you won't be able to kill anymore. Blizzard has completely changed the way tanking works. and the current raid bosses are not tuned for those changes. Some of the fights require a lot of Mana, and all of those Spriests you've stocked your raid with may not be as effective. DPS has changed quite a bit for many classes, will your high DPSers still be so far up there?
I wouldn't be surprised if the game screeched to a halt, and every one just sat around waiting for the expansion.
So, When is the patch going to drop? That is a very good question without a good answer. We have a couple of things to go on, but none of them are definitive.
1. Patch 3.0.2 just hit the PTR over the weekend. Most large "content" patches like this one are on the PTR for a month or two. However, much of these changes have been tested on the beta so don't be surprised is this patch is tested for less time then normal.
2. The background downloader started downloading the patch late last week. In most cases the patch comes 2 weeks after the background downloader starts downloading the patch. However, there have been instances where the background downloader was running for more then a month before the patch was released. These things usually include the big graphics files that don't change much while a patch is being tested.
3. Lets look at past experience. The Burning Crusade was released 42 days after patch 2.0.1 dropped on Dec 5th 2006. If the same timeline is used this time then the patch will probably be released on Sept 30th just 44 days before the release.
4. This is pure speculation on my part, but I wouldn't be surprised if blizzard released this patch a little closer to the release date then last time. There is a little more at stake here, and blizzard may delay it a little to try and not upset people.
So, If I had to guess when the patch will drop, I would say Sept. 30th. It is in line with the last expansion. It gives blizzard a little over two weeks of having it on the PTR, and I think we can ignore the background downloader because it is graphics files that have already been tested in the beta. I hope the patch date is Oct 14th or even a little later, but I doubt that will happen.
My Pre-Patch Goals:
These are ranked in order of priority.
1. Kill Kael - I want the freaken Hand of Ad'al title, and I feel like I have been cheated out of it a little by guild issues and blizzard dropping the attunments. It may be misleading but this title will probably been seen as what kind of raider you were in the Burning Crusade.
Chances of Success: I'd say 50%. I was in a Kael pug over the weekend that was run by a couple of guildies. We got in to phase 4, but couldn't advance because we lost people to stupid stuff. Hopefully we can get the pug going again this weekend with the same or more experienced people.
2. Clear BT and Hyjal - I just want the experience. Again, I feel like I was cheated out of progression due to guild break ups. I just want to see everything I can before the expansion.
Chances of Success: I'd say 85 - 90%. My new guild has cleared both instances. I have been included in tonight's raid, which will start with Illidan and then end with a clearing of Hyjal. Hopefully, I do well enough to be included in more raids in the future. If I do get into raids, I should achieve this goal.
3. Get a Bear Mount - I am not one of those people that tries to collect all of the mounts, but these things are awesome by them selves. The good news is I was involved in a raid that got a bear mount with 4 minutes to spare. I was allowed to roll on the mount but I passed because the only other person who didn't have the mount was a long time guild member, and I didn't want to piss anyone off.
Chance of Success: I'd say 50%. It really depends on if the raids happen and who else in the raid doesn't have a mount. It sounds like the raids will continue to happen. There are several scheduled on the calender, but obviously my chances go down if there are other people in the raid that want the mount also. At the very least I can say I completed the timed loot, but I would still like the mount.
4. Kill some boss in SWP - I don't know how to evaluate this one and to be honest is isn't all that important to me. If we had more time then it would be pretty big but I'm resigned to the fact that it isn't likely.
Chance of Success: I'd say less then 10%. Sunwell was tuned for guilds that had been clearing BT for a while. Lords of Eternity have only been clearing it for a month. On top of that I am well behind most of the guild in terms of gear. Therefore I don't think I have much chance at getting into a progression raid at this point. I would love to experience it, but lets face it. The cards are stacked against me.
Time to Panic:
A lot of people are probably rejoicing at the announcement. For high end raiders and casual players this is one of the few times they agree on something. Both are thinking: "WOOT!!! NEW CONTENT".
However, there is another group out there for whom this is a very depressing announcement. We are a group of people with unfulfilled goals. For whatever circumstances we have not been able to complete a couple of tasks for which we have been striving.
Some of you may be saying: "Hey, we still have 2 months. That is plenty of time to finish things up." Well, that's not completely true. Some time between now and Nov 13th, Patch 3.0.2 will drop. If you weren't here for the release of BC, this is the patch that gets WoW ready for the expansion. It will change everything. All of those changes to the talent trees, abilities, and other things will take affect with Patch 3.0.2. Also, some of the rewards from BC will become unavailable. That means no more Bear Mounts from ZA. No more titles from completing the Attunments for SSC, TK, Hyjal, and BT.
After the patch drops the game will change completely. If you raid, there are some bosses you've had on Farm that you won't be able to kill anymore. Blizzard has completely changed the way tanking works. and the current raid bosses are not tuned for those changes. Some of the fights require a lot of Mana, and all of those Spriests you've stocked your raid with may not be as effective. DPS has changed quite a bit for many classes, will your high DPSers still be so far up there?
I wouldn't be surprised if the game screeched to a halt, and every one just sat around waiting for the expansion.
So, When is the patch going to drop? That is a very good question without a good answer. We have a couple of things to go on, but none of them are definitive.
1. Patch 3.0.2 just hit the PTR over the weekend. Most large "content" patches like this one are on the PTR for a month or two. However, much of these changes have been tested on the beta so don't be surprised is this patch is tested for less time then normal.
2. The background downloader started downloading the patch late last week. In most cases the patch comes 2 weeks after the background downloader starts downloading the patch. However, there have been instances where the background downloader was running for more then a month before the patch was released. These things usually include the big graphics files that don't change much while a patch is being tested.
3. Lets look at past experience. The Burning Crusade was released 42 days after patch 2.0.1 dropped on Dec 5th 2006. If the same timeline is used this time then the patch will probably be released on Sept 30th just 44 days before the release.
4. This is pure speculation on my part, but I wouldn't be surprised if blizzard released this patch a little closer to the release date then last time. There is a little more at stake here, and blizzard may delay it a little to try and not upset people.
So, If I had to guess when the patch will drop, I would say Sept. 30th. It is in line with the last expansion. It gives blizzard a little over two weeks of having it on the PTR, and I think we can ignore the background downloader because it is graphics files that have already been tested in the beta. I hope the patch date is Oct 14th or even a little later, but I doubt that will happen.
My Pre-Patch Goals:
These are ranked in order of priority.
1. Kill Kael - I want the freaken Hand of Ad'al title, and I feel like I have been cheated out of it a little by guild issues and blizzard dropping the attunments. It may be misleading but this title will probably been seen as what kind of raider you were in the Burning Crusade.
Chances of Success: I'd say 50%. I was in a Kael pug over the weekend that was run by a couple of guildies. We got in to phase 4, but couldn't advance because we lost people to stupid stuff. Hopefully we can get the pug going again this weekend with the same or more experienced people.
2. Clear BT and Hyjal - I just want the experience. Again, I feel like I was cheated out of progression due to guild break ups. I just want to see everything I can before the expansion.
Chances of Success: I'd say 85 - 90%. My new guild has cleared both instances. I have been included in tonight's raid, which will start with Illidan and then end with a clearing of Hyjal. Hopefully, I do well enough to be included in more raids in the future. If I do get into raids, I should achieve this goal.
3. Get a Bear Mount - I am not one of those people that tries to collect all of the mounts, but these things are awesome by them selves. The good news is I was involved in a raid that got a bear mount with 4 minutes to spare. I was allowed to roll on the mount but I passed because the only other person who didn't have the mount was a long time guild member, and I didn't want to piss anyone off.
Chance of Success: I'd say 50%. It really depends on if the raids happen and who else in the raid doesn't have a mount. It sounds like the raids will continue to happen. There are several scheduled on the calender, but obviously my chances go down if there are other people in the raid that want the mount also. At the very least I can say I completed the timed loot, but I would still like the mount.
4. Kill some boss in SWP - I don't know how to evaluate this one and to be honest is isn't all that important to me. If we had more time then it would be pretty big but I'm resigned to the fact that it isn't likely.
Chance of Success: I'd say less then 10%. Sunwell was tuned for guilds that had been clearing BT for a while. Lords of Eternity have only been clearing it for a month. On top of that I am well behind most of the guild in terms of gear. Therefore I don't think I have much chance at getting into a progression raid at this point. I would love to experience it, but lets face it. The cards are stacked against me.
Well that's it for me. If you have any goals or comments please make a comment below.
** Image Stolen from MMO Champion
** Image Stolen from MMO Champion
2 comments:
I was saying to my wife last night, just before our eyes drooped on the pillow, that I knew I had predicted this somewhere.
She was sorry... which I find is bizarre in a WoW-widow, that I am missing the start... she even asked if I wanted to stay behind and play (my mates are having a LAN to coincide with the release).
Mmmm play WoW for 2 days, miss the wedding of an Indian Prince, then shut down the PC for 2 months... I think not!
Thanks for the link... I knew I had written the 13th somewhere, but couldn't remember where... Just a shame we weren't running a book on this, I could have a couple of extra pennies in my pocket... Mind you, things could change.
WoW-Widows can be strange. There are times when I'm sure my wife will be very angry if I play, and see basically tells me to go play. Then there are other times when I think it should be ok, and it turns out not to be.
I agree though that Vacation/Wedding > WoW. I may take a couple of days vacation to play wow, but the day I skip a vacation to play wow is the day I need to stop playing the game.
Have a good trip.
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