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| Dungeon Finder: Call to Arms |
Blizzard has recently released information on a new feature coming to the World of Warcraft game. The new dungeon finder feature Call to Arms will be implemented as part of WoW's Patch 4.1. You can read the official write-up from the Blizzard site here.
This new Call to Arms upgrade to the dungeon finder is designed to help shorten queue times for random heroics. Currently DPS characters have the longest wait times, so Blizzard has come up with the Call to Arms feature as a way to bribe tanks and healers to run random heroic dungeons.
When the queue wait times are backed up, whatever role (tank, healer, dps) is in demand, will be Called to Arms. If that role is Called to Arms, then anyone that queues for a random heroic dungeon that can fill that role will be awarded a bonus, the Satchel of Exotic Mysteries, once the final heroic dungeon boss is killed.
Satchel of Exotic Mysteries
The Satchel of Exotic Mysteries is a nice bribe for those of us with tanks and healers to join the random dungeon finder for heroics when needed. Having a tank as my main means this will be great for me. I probably will be not joining any random heroics until tanks are receive the Call to Arms. Why? It's because tanks are always the instant queue role due to shortages on my server. So once Call to Arms comes in Patch 4.1, I will be waiting on my call to enter the heroic dungeons as a tank and get my Satchel of Exotic Mysteries. The Satchel is also going to be Bind on Account, so you can trade it to your alternate WoW characters once you receive it. You can also receive the Satchel of Exotic Goods more than once per day as there is no limit as long as you join the queue while your role is Called to Arms.
Satchel of Exotic Mysteries Contents
- Gold
- A Chance at a Rare Gem
- A Chance at a Flask or Elixir
- A Good Chance at a Companion Pet (Includes cross faction pets and reputation awarded pets)
- A Very Rare Chance at a Rare Mount (Only mounts from dungeons [not raids] and odds are the same drop rate as from the original boss source)
- Reins of the Ravenlord from Setthek Halls
- Swift White Hawkstrider from Magister's Terrace
- Deathcharger's Reins from Stratholme
So for those of us that are mount collectors, this offers yet another way to obtain those rare mounts and pets that we all long for. I myself think this is a great addition to the game, but hey my main is a tank so its awesome for me.
It may shorten queue times, but the trade off will not be worth it. Instead of dealing with idiot DPS, now we will be flooded with idiot tanks. Problem will be that dungeon runs will take longer (if they can complete at all) as these tard's will be unable to perform.
ReplyDeleteNet result:
Before 4.1 - 15 min queue + 45 min run = 1 hour
After 4.1 - 5 min queue + incomplete run = bad
Did they not learn anything from Tol Barad?
Oh no...pet sellers (like me) are going to suffer thx to this
ReplyDeleteAnonymous hit the nail on the head....
ReplyDelete"Instead of dealing with idiot DPS, now we will be flooded with idiot tanks."
Well put sir.
"It may shorten queue times, but the trade off will not be worth it. Instead of dealing with idiot DPS, now we will be flooded with idiot tanks. Problem will be that dungeon runs will take longer (if they can complete at all) as these tard's will be unable to perform."
ReplyDeleteThe above statement confirms that a run can be completed with idiot DPS but not an idiot tank. Miss a cooldown or mess up a rotation as DPS and no one notices but on a tank it leads to a wipe or death, and lots of nerd rage. This is why people avoid tanking. It's too much stress for not enough rewards. I like tanking but it's a major pain to do so when you have an idiot group. Add a new healer who is learning the ropes to the mix and tanking has suddenly become even tougher. Now good but selfish tanks will have reasons to run. Cross faction pets fetch a good price on the AH. =)
Glad they can be traded. I'd be upset if my mount collector (dps) couldn't get these.
ReplyDeleteBlizzard is pretty adept at mind contr... behavioral modification.
I doubt this change will have much of an effect on LFD queue times. The rewards aren't substantial enough to get most tanks to put up with the nonsense that is typical in LFD.
ReplyDeleteIf I really want gold, there are better ways to make it than ~200g/hour in heroics. If I want mounts, I can easily complete a Baron run and a trip through MgT in the time it takes to run a heroic. All the goody bag does is reward tanks for something they would have done anyway.
Furthermore, there's a non-trivial pool of dps that don't queue because wait times are too long. If queue times drop, they'll start queueing again, which would push queue times back up. Basically, current queue times are an equilibrium point; we won't see them change much without very substantial changes in the tank supply.
My main is a tank and I guess I fall into the "selfish" category as I rarely PUG anything but rather wait until at least 3 or 4 guildies are around to do the random HC etc.
ReplyDeleteWill this make a difference to me? I would say yes at least initially - only time will tell if the rewards are enough to keep me pugging :)
Generally, great idea, and only time will tell what impact it has. I dont think it really will have all that much impact... for this new perk does not address the cause of tank shortages...
ReplyDeleteSome of those causes are:
-Non competitive... what do you do link the "damage taken meters" lol @ that
- Stressfull to be better faster and smarter than 3 dps and a healer trying to sabatage your every effort to maintain agro in an effort to compete for dps.
- Mechanics for tanking are not intuitive and are not taught. You level through quests as dps... what else is there? are you ever taught agro (hunters and locks sorta, dont count though) and you learn to heal, bandages and food.. green bar is small make it bigger mentality...
---dodge vs. block vs. parry vs. armor vs. stam vs. mastery vs. balance lol wuts good?
--- mob control and positioning... cant dodge or parry if they are behind you and casters.. gahhh... as a tank you think you drag the mobs around... no.. you drag the mobs and your healers and dps around too... LOS pull, they better respond to you...
When these things become entrained in the game to be taught and learned in game.. then tanks will become more prevalent... Building quests and encounters to train the player base to these things would have a more lasting impact
Foo had and idea that sparked a thought and I wrote on in my blog that relates...
Building quests and encounters to train the player base
I have refused to PUG since Cataclysm came out as a tank. There is no way im going into a dungeon with ?3 idiots? (? for might have a slight clue) to wipe me for an hour and a half all over the dungeon floor. Even if they are giving me 100 gold to do it. That covers what... the repair bill. Until there is a better system to determine a character's skill level, like how far their progression is, then I'm not joining a random without 3+ guildies one of which WILL be the healer.
ReplyDelete