The biggest tweak coming with patch 4.3 is the Ethereal ability to transmogrify a players armor.
Starting with the patch, players will be able to choose the armor they think looks the best, as well as the armor that is most powerful to combine them into a single set.
"We have a wealth of armor sets we created that people no longer use," said Tom Chilton, leadWorld of Warcraft game designer.
Worse still, Chilton said, as players start to top out they being to look very similar because many players seem to stick to the high level, epic gear.
The hope is that players will use "transmogrification" not just to mix and max their favorite armor, but that this new ability will encourage some players to go back through the game on the hunt for some of the armor they may have passed up because it was under-powered.
To transmogrify a piece of armor it has to be the same type (cloth, leather, mail, plate) and stay within the class. Players just take it to an Ethereal who has set up shop in town; they transmogrify the two pieces into one.
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Another addition coming with the patch is "Void Storage", a new 100 to 150 items slots players can purchase with in-game currency. Like transmogrification, void storage comes from the Ethereals. Void storage is a pocket dimension created for a player that allows them to store extra items, but there is a downside.
Anything stored in the void is stripped of its enchantments and gems and the name of the person who crafted it, Chilton said. The stripping isn't tied to the lore of the game, either, but is the byproduct of a technical issue that makes this new storage system possible. (Read: Silly databases!)
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Finally, Chilton explained a new feature coming with the patch called "Raid Finder". The Raid Finder essentially operates like a dungeon finder, automating the search for fellow players on the hunt for a good raiding party. It will be built into the game's updated user interface when the patch hits, they said.
The bulk of the patch, though, will be a lot new content, Chilton said.
"It has a whole bunch of content," he said, "three dungeons for five player instances and a new raid instance culminating in the Deathwing fight."
That Deathwing fight will be the most epic boss encounter to date, including a battle phase that takes place on the massive dragon's back as he flies through the sky.
With Blizzcon only a few months away, a trademark filing has surfaced hinting at what could be one of the last big hurrahs for the aging MMO.Honestly, it's about time Blizz caved in to fanboy demand. At least now the Alliance (who will inevitably get to play as them) will look even more ridiculous and childish than they did before, what with all the Chinese Tony the Tigers running around. I wonder what race the Horde will get...
Dated from last week in the US, it's for something called Mists of Pandaria...
