Jan. 1, 2006
TKA Something's new look for 2006!
Happy New Year!
As you can see, as per my last update, TKA Something is undergoing a change of look. What does this mean to you? That over the next 24 hours, there will be things that don’t work when you try to access them. You might find dead links or the infamous 404 error. Please rest assured that I am working furiously to get everything up and running again, 100%.
Additionally, if you e-mailed me anything over the last week, that information has been lost (or it’s possible that you received a message that the mail was undeliverable.) To be safe, please try to hold all e-mail correspondence until Wednesday (01/04/06).
Dec. 26, 2005
TKA Something's Year in Review
First, I hope everyone had or is having a wonderful holiday season. I received a set of Jingling Bells and am enjoying the Feast of the Winter Veil immensely this year (I also got a TiVo!).
As 2005 draws to a close, I want to say thank you to all the TKA supporters. A few milestones have past without me mentioning them. Back in November (prepare the fireworks), TKA Something celebrated its one year anniversary. Around then, we also passed the million hit mark – a big deal to me because while I hoped people would visit the site, I never really thought about it in terms of being popular. That makes me happy and it’s all thanks to each and every one of you. TKA Something is now also listed on Blizzard’s World of Warcraft website as a Class Guide!
What are the plans for 2006? Well, one thing that I’ve been working on for a while is a site revamp which will, if all things go well, happen this coming weekend. Take note – this means that on Friday night (12/30) the site will be down for a few hours (I hope not more than 2-3 total). While it’s not big, sweeping changes (yet), it will include a change of menu which I hope will make the site a bit easier to navigate. There are other, smaller changes in the works, some of them ongoing (like the Species revamp, which is now close to being finished).
So, once again, thank you, and I look forward with much anticipation to what 2006 will bring the Hunter class! And don’t forget about the downtime on 12/30 (meaning don’t panic when you can’t find it Friday night).
Turtles – (Beasts) updated
Gorillas – (Beasts) updated
Bats – (Beasts) updated
Scorpids – (Beasts) updated
Crawlers – (Beasts) updated
Tallstriders – (Beasts) updated
Owls – (Beasts) updated
Raptors – (Beasts) updated
Lazy Hunter Macros – (Guides) updated
Zelf’s “Math Made Easy” Damage Calculator – (Guides) updated
Dec. 9, 2005
Oh, Vermont should be beautiful
The Test server has been up (and down) over the last few weeks. And yes, the normalization
of pet run speeds are here to stay. This is the latest list of Hunter issues:
- Entrapment is not proccing as it did in previous patches.
- Screech’s AE effect breaks CC effects.
- Screech’s AE effect is not breaking CC effects in our tests.
Pet speeds are normalized. There still is an issue under research concerning a pet’s ability to pursue its target. Default pet speeds for all types of creatures are all intended to be the same.
- Bestial Wrath is not increasing pet damage.
- Aspect of the Wild does not display the radius of the effect.
- Flare leaves a flame graphic in the location it was cast.
- Frost Trap’s animation does not work correctly if you have talent points in Clever Traps.
- Bestial Swiftness will not affect pets that were summoned indoors.
- Pet AI has difficulty attacking moving targets.
Since it’s the holiday season – I’m inclined to be charitable. I think I can live with the pet speed normalization. It’s been improved since it was first introduced (when it first appeared on Test, it was bad. REALLY bad). Some people might take this as a crippling class change. I don’t happen to agree. So yes, I’m willing to compromise on this issue.
Speaking of charity, everyone has their “pet” causes that they donate to, usually over the
holidays. I’m no different. I support the Humane Society of the United States. All my pets have been shelter adopted. If you’re an animal lover (animal companions were part of the reason I chose a hunter to begin with) and have a few extra dollars to spare, consider a donation to your local Humane Society.
Boars – (Beasts) updated
Lazy Hunter Macros – (Guides) updated
Contact – updated
Nov. 22, 2005
What did you expect, a turkey card?
So I got my hot little hands on the latest version of the Test server. Remember (obligatory disclaimer), things on the Test server aren’t set in stone. So these notes, while accurate, may not all make it to the live servers. Before I’m inundated with specific questions about 'What does this do?’ Or, 'Where can I find it?’ – the Test server isn’t up, but I imagine it will be in the next few days. As soon as I know, it’ll be up on TKA Something.
- Arcane Shot – This spell can no longer trigger twice in one shot off of the Paladin’s Judgement of Wisdom.
- Aspect of the Pack and Aspect of the Cheetah – Periodic damage will no longer trigger the Dazed effect.
- Aspect of the Wild – Radius increased. Tooltip updated to display radius.
- Improved Concussive Shot – The stun effect’s duration no longer diminishes or is diminished by controlled stun abilities and spells (e.g. Cheap Shot, Hammer of Justice, Charge etc.).
- Tame Beast – The hunter will now turn to face the target during the taming process.
- Bestial Wrath – Damage bonus reduced, duration increased.
- Unleashed Fury – Damage bonus increased.
- Turtles can now eat raw and cooked fish.
- Turtles can now learn Shell Shield, allowing them to reduces all damage taken by 50% for 10 sec.
- Hunters can now tame Sons of Hakkar. Sons of Hakkar are in the Wind Serpent family and will know Lightning Breath (Rank 6).
- Boars can now learn Charge, an ability that allows them to charge to an enemy, immobilize that enemy for 1 second, and add a large amount of Attack Power to the boar’s next attack.
- Gorillas can now learn Thunderstomp, an ability that causes high threat area Nature damage.
Also, this made me smile:
- Engineers with skill 250 or greater, who have completed Umi Rumplesnicker’s 'Are We There Yeti?’ quest line, should seek her out again in Everlook.
After spending some time on the Test server, there are a few additional things to note:
- Concussive Shot now has a graphic when it hits
- Flare now has a graphic on the ground (I am unsure if this can be seen by opposing faction)
- Lupos no longer does Shadow Damage
- Pet pursuit speeds have been changed (all pets now intercept at a much slower speed, and
beasts that were previously very quick… aren’t any longer)
To those who celebrate it, Happy Thanksgiving!
Carrion Birds – (Beasts) updated
Beast Training, The Sequel: Skills – (Skills) updated
Nov. 15, 2005
That isn't very subtle
Good news, trolls! And no, I don’t mean the message board kind. Although this isn’t exactly hunter specific, as it applies to everyone in a general sense, I felt I needed to pass along what Blizzard has said about the upcoming racial trait changes.
Active racial ability improvements, including those specific to the Priest are currently slated for patch version 1.10. We realize that some of these abilities are not on par with others and part of our review will be to determine which changes must be made in order for players to feel each is beneficial. You’re free to post your feedback, but please understand that I’ve already given extensive feedback and suggestions to the class designers on this subject especially relating to the Troll.
Passive abilities may receive attention at a later date, but currently we’re focused on each race’s active abilities. We are fully aware of your concerns pertaining to several of the passive abilities, however, reviewing them is simply not a current priority as the class team is dedicated to completing each of the nine classes talent reviews in addition to making improvements to the active racials as stated above.
The other news, that does relate to hunters, is that the new graphics for the Tier 2 armor sets (for Hunters, that would be Dragonstalker) have been released.
(pulls up her tree stump)
Overall, I’m a fan of the World of Warcraft graphics. After years of trying to model characters to look very humanoid (realistic), I find the lighter feeling of Warcraft a refreshing change – and it’s one of the main reasons I really feel passionate about the game.
BUT WHAT IS WITH THE BRIGHT PURPLE ARMOR?
When the Beaststalker graphics were changed (color-wise), I was all for it. I feel much more like a hunter dressed in earth tones. And design-wise, I’ve got nothing against how Dragonstalker looks (although I just am really not a fan of large shoulder pads, it’s so 80’s). But why is it purple? What would be wrong with forest green? Or even a more muted magenta (these colors are found in abundance in Darkshore)? Instead of listening to the vocal outcries against the coloration, we received the following response:
I will also tell you that these models are final. These are the pieces going in 1.9. I am sorry if they’re not to your liking, but unfortunately art is very, very subjective. What is one man’s mess is another man’s masterpiece.
I can’t stand analogies like this. Art is art, and art is indeed subjective. The problem is, when you go shopping for a piece of artwork, you look for something that appeals to you. You don’t go into a gallery (or hell, even into Prints Plus in your local mall) and have them hand you a piece of art and tell you that’s what you’re getting for your investment, whether or not you like it. The funny thing is, unlike some other classes, Hunters are NOT asking for a re-work of the entire design. Take a lesson from Andy Warhol, Marilyn style, and give us the color change.
TKA updates include a new guide from Hodap of Pernolde for killing Onyxia (no, not solo). Also, this marks the beginning of a re-vamp of the species pages. Due to popular demand, species pages will now start to include all the “named” of that species. One of my previous updates said that there were 15 “named” spiders in the game. Turns out my count was off… by one.
Spiders – (Beasts) updated
It’s time to slay the Dragon! – (Guides) added
Lower Blackrock Spire – (Habitat) added
The Hunt for Rhok’delar – (Guides) updated
Lazy Hunter Macros – (Guides) updated
Zorlen’s Hunter Functions – (Guides) updated