Link to the World of Warcraft 1.8 patch notes.To start off I just want to say that I am surprised by this patch. I don't get to play tuesdays because the servers are down for weekly maintenance during my play time... so I really don't do anything with WoW unless there is a patch going live. Well 1.8 blind sided me and now that I am at work... I am catching up on the patch notes. But enough of my boring life... onto the commentary.
Disturbance at the Great Trees and The Stirring of the Silithid... or as I like to call them... epic loot for the casual crowd. No long raid instances! The dragons should offer the chance for pick up raids to hopefully beat them into the ground. The new content in Silithus basically breaks down into grind for epic items. Will have to see how it pans out though.
Next we have "The mechanics of most instant melee attacks have been modified to improve item balance." Probably the most controversial of the patch changes... but it really doesn't need to be. Most epic weapons are now better than their blue cousins. Fix that was needed... even though I hate loot being > player skill. You were near the top end with easier to get blue items... but now those are slightly nerfed. Oh well.
My favorite patch note... "The percentage of players that may reach ranks 6 through 14 has been increased." Finally!
Then there is... "Alterac Valley has received an overhaul", but I doubt this will pull people out of Arathi Basin. Most people only grind the FOTM battleground because of the epic rewards for exalted and revered reputation. Which just got easier... "Each Battleground has an individual turn-in quest associated with its related victory/loss condition. Upon completion of a Battleground, the winning side will be awarded three Marks of Honor while the losing side will be awarded one Mark of Honor. Three Marks of Honor may be turned in to the associated questgiver for Honor Points and faction increase. Should players complete this turn-in quest, they will find that the bonus Honor Points for completion are twice that of normal turn-in conditions (individual)." Hopefully it does make it easier and maybe gets some more battlegrounds open.
Bug fix that has been around forever for my shaman class... "Ghost Wolf - Will now correctly have its cast time reduced by Nature's Swiftness."
Leatherworking got A LOT of new items... so maybe it is a good thing I held onto it. However I don't have skinning anymore so probably be stuck in the auction house for materials.
"Latency upon entering crowded areas, such as Ironforge and Orgrimmar, should be substantially reduced." I am skeptical at best on this... we will see when I log on tommorow.
Farmers = OWNED. "Tyr's Hand now has the proper outdoor elite monster respawn time.
Hearthglen now has the proper outdoor elite respawn time." Never could figure out why these places spawned every couple seconds resulting in the perfect gold farming spots.
Overall it seems Blizzard is making some good moves. I must say that I am surprised and I will continue to play :) This is exactly what I needed to stay interested!
