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Many changes have come to the game World of Warcraft over the past couple of years. And, as evident with the upcoming patch 2.1, many more changes are in the future.

So, what is change good for? Will this upcoming patch be in the best interest of the game? Let's take a look at the changes to see how they may benefit the world of Azeroth.

Before we may begin, you will probably want to have a look at the patch notes. They can be found here.

Here's My Opinion

Classes

This patch brought many changes to every class. Each class seemed to both benefit and be limited by this patch.

All to often, players only focus on the negative aspects of class changes - the nerfs. There are so many good changes to come along with the nerfs, that I think overall this patch is a great direction for the classes.

For example, a much-needed change comes to druids, by way of allowing them the chance to transform into an epic flight form. This quest will be well worth the reward (much like the paladin and warlock epic mount quests are well worth the effort) because it will allow them the benefits of an epic flying mount without having to get the actual mount.

Also, the hunter Mend Pet ability undergoes a big change. It changes from a channeled spell to an instant cast, heal over time spell. These are great changes.

Professions

I have mixed feelings on the professions changes (and there were many).

There were quite a few beneficial profession changes. Alchemists have some great changes, such as the discovery chance increased. I gave a slight cheer to see that the fishing timer will no longer run through its duration without a fish biting and that prospecting will always yield a gem now.

The engineering changes, long overdue, gave me a moment's happiness. I did have a "what-took-ya'll-so-long" moment while reading them though. The facts that seaforium now opens chests (not just doors), fused wiring can now be made, and the new recipes made me very happy. However, at further look, a part of me seems to feel like a dog who's been thrown a bone.

The new recipes are still going to be only available to those with engineering skill, which means that this profession is going to be nothing but a money sink. No monetary return will be made on items made. Therefore, I will most likely keep my engineer right where she is at 300. Engineering costs more than it's worth.

Instances and Raids

Good news for raiders! More new instances have been added! The Black Temple, Ethereum Prison, Skettis, and Ogri'la are all awaiting conquest. I think that the more instances there are, the better. It provides a plethora of choices for those who enjoy dungeon crawling.

Other

The quest changes look solid, the reputation changes are nice (I especially like the battleground titles for exalted rep with the three battlegrounds). The integrationof the LFG channel with the LFG/LFM tool is a great idea. Screenshots being saved as .jpg is long overdue, as are the new graveyards in Blade's Edge Mountains.

This is just a brief overview of the upcoming changes. There were so many changes that it would be quite tedious to go over each and every one of them. All in all, however, I think that this set of changes is good for the game. It brings many additions that are long overdue and many new things that are absolutely great.

My biggest disappointment with these changes is in the profession changes. However, crafting has never been a focal point of Blizzard's efforts (which they've said from the beginning it would not be). Regardless of that however, these changes are quite beneficial to the overall game and I hope that the future holds many more patches such as this one.

What do you think?