Games Convention 2007

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Games Convention 2007

Games Convention 2007 News & Articles

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New Info Straight From Tigole at Leipzig

Interviews | Aug. 24, 2007 (11 months, 2 weeks ago) | by Kody

We had a chance to talk with Tigole a bit this afternoon at the Leipzig Games Convention and he provided quite a bit of new information. We have a video in the process of being uploaded now, but unfortunately Nimloth is uploading it from his hotel in Germany, so it's a bit slow. In the meantime, we have some details from the interview to satiate everyone's hunger for details.

We first asked about Utgarde Keep, located in Howling Fjord. It's going to be a winged dungeon with two instances. One is a level 70 instance for players to level up in and the other - called "Utgarde Pinnacle" - will be for level 80 players. Both instances will of course have Normal and Heroic versions.

A bit later we asked if he could go into more details about the Inscription profession. It's being approached in a different manner than previous professions because the team doesn't want it to become a balancing necessity like "add 100 more spell damage" - something they quickly ran into with Alchemy in The Burning Crusade. Instead, they're leaning toward things such as Frost Nova having a wider radius, or the root portion lasting a bit longer(both examples which may not go in). Inscription will of course also work on melee abilities.

And of course, the reduced leveling curse topic which everyone has been so frantic about over the past few days; Tigole gladly explained it a bit more. Levels between 20 and 60 are going to have the experience required per-level reduced. Not only that, though - the experience rewarded by quests is being increased by around 30%.

From there we asked him two questions directly related to Hunters, since the class has been somewhat neglected in recent interviews and discussions. Hunters rejoice; we asked about the possibility of the Woodworking profession being added to create arrows, and he says that it's an idea that they're seriously tossing around and it may see the light of day in the future.

Finally, Blizzard realizes that Hunters are a bit weak in arenas, especially in 5v5 when compared to other classes, so they're toying around with ideas of ways to improve their desirability. One idea is to give them a Mortal Strike-like shot that will reduce healing effectiveness on the target of the shot.

Keep checking back for more Leipzig Games Convention coverage, and of course, keep your eyes peeled for the full video interview tonight!

Tags: gc2007 interview leipzig tigole wotlk
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11 months, 1 week ago

I disagree Schwick. It sounds like a burst damage ability which when combined with its debuff nature drive it more towards Survival. In any event, Survival remains one of the weaker and unpopular talent trees. Especially in lieu of CC limitations in pvp and poor trap scaling.

I say Survival.

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11 months, 2 weeks ago

I like that they are reducing the time it takes to level, but I'm not sure I like how. I think the game for first time players should remain mostly the same, perhaps a 10% reduction or so. However, if a character has a max level character (on a server of the same form - It wouldn't do to make leveling on PvP easier because they have a PvE main), then the time for an alt should be reduce significantly, like 30-40%, even in OL to an extent.

I hate MS with an absolute passion and would love for hunters to get something else >.

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11 months, 2 weeks ago

The leveling changes are aimed at new players as much as current. Blizz knows to continue to grow it has to make it easier for them to level. Honestly who wants to buy a game knowing (or even worse figuring out after they buy it) that it will take 3-5 months to get where 96% of the rest of the population is. And for existing players it gives them a chance to play different classes and roles.

As for the Hunter changes. A new MS type shot would most likely go into the Survival tree, as it has almost always been the PvP tree for Hunters. Not sure it is really a fix though. Hunters have other problems in the Arenas. Like the Woodworking idea though.  (And yes, I played a Hunter for over 2 years as my main  :P  )
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11 months, 2 weeks ago

ow just stop it:) ofc the answer is somewhere in the future we`ll make all Hunters woodsmen:)) so they can chop off a Druid Tree and make arrows..in the future...the future..the future :)) anyway..yay?:)

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11 months, 2 weeks ago

woot hunter with MS :D

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11 months, 2 weeks ago

I'm fine with the leveling for the most part, except for level 50-58. Those eight levels may seem easy enough, but they are the most difficult levels to get. Previous to that, most dungeons at your level give GREAT xp, but for some reason, the 50-58 ones don't. In two runs of SM Cath at level 40, got me to 41 on my Druid, so why won't 5 runs of ST get me from 52-53? I just want level 55 for Onyxia and MC and stuff. I want to be a raid healer, if only for the "Classic Nights" my guild has.

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11 months, 2 weeks ago

I would have to say that i would all depend on the kind of character you are leveling and if its your very first toon As a noob warrior it took me 6 months to get to 60 (pre expansion) and my mage took 3 weeks to get to 50. thats i big jump for me. i would have to say that lvl 50 to 58 sucks because i really HATE "ST" and WPL and EPL get kinda crappy without some friends help. with my warrior 60-70 took about 3 weeks. i think its all on the way you play and what toon you play.

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11 months, 2 weeks ago

Levelling to 60 made all of my RL friends quit.  :(

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11 months, 2 weeks ago

I think the overall speed of level 58 to level 70 is pretty fast paced (assuming you enter Outland from L58). I have no problems levelling a toon past L58. L20-58 is indeed a little slower.

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11 months, 2 weeks ago

Definitely. My least favorite part of the game at this point is leveling up to Outland levels. Once I get to Outland, it's not so bad. I'm sure when the level cap is 90-100 I'll have different opinions of Outland though. :)

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11 months, 2 weeks ago

I wonder how hard they'll make it to level from 60 to 80 since they are gonna reduce the 20-60 portion

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11 months, 2 weeks ago

nah it will go in survival. Making survival the Arena spec - lol

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11 months, 2 weeks ago

I wonder where they'll put this "Mortal strike-like" shot. I hope Marksmanship (which also makes sense since it ain't a survival tool nor pet tool).