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

href="http://wiki.tentonhammer.com/index

.php?title=WoW:Patch_Notes_2.1"

target="_blank">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?

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VOTE IN OUR

POLL!

Change - What's

it good for?

* These changes are all great!

I wouldn't change a single thing!
* There are some good changes

there, but they left out some much-needed changes elsewhere.
* It's hard to say if there are more

good or bad changes.
* Why are they changing things?

Can't they leave well enough alone?

/>
* I have no opinion on the patch

notes. I just play the game.

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