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World of Warcraft Patch 5.3 is currently in the works and there looks like there are a lot of things to get excited about with it. Keep in mind that this is still very early on and a lot is likely to change before being released to the live servers. With that in mind though, let’s take a look at some of the coming changes to WoW with Patch 5.3.

Class Changes

As with most patches there will be many different class changes coming in the new patch. There are many showing up for almost all the classes and there are sure to be many more before the patches release.

Just a few of note so far are:

• Most buff spells (MotW, Blessings, Fortitude, etc) have had their mana costs reduced.
• Hunters can now have 50 pets in the stables!
• Monks Ring of Peace has been redesigned. It is now an 8 yard bubble around a friendly target that silences and disarms enemies in it for 3 seconds any time they do anything other than auto-attack.
• Shamans may cast lighting bolts while moving.
• Warriors Defensive Stance now decreases damage taken by 25% instead of 15%!

There are constant changes going on to these class changes, so check the patch notes often for more information.

Patch 5.3 Wrathion Quest Update

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As with the previous 5.x patches this one will again bring additional Wrathion legendary quests to complete. This time around Wrathion sends you to one of the four main temples around Pandaria to complete a challenge for one of the celestials found there. The reward when you complete the challenge is an item level 600 cloak.

You can choose whichever of the four challenges that you want, however the reward from each is different and best suited for a specific character type.

The temples and rewards are as follows:

• Niuzao Temple in Townlong Steppes - Tank
• Temple of the Red Crane in Krasarang – Healer
• Temple of the Jade Serpent in the Jade Forest – Caster DPS
• Temple of the White Tiger in Kun-Lai – Melee DPS

New Scenarios in Patch 5.3

There are a few things that are changing with scenarios in patch 5.3. The first is that the faction specific scenarios have been opened up to both factions. This is to allow players to see what the other factions scenarios are and play a few additional scenarios.

Next up, there are several new scenarios being added into the game. They are: Blood in the Snow, The Secrets of Ragefire, Battle on the High Seas, and Dark Heart of Pandaria. All of these scenarios offer a little more backstory to the game and more options for those that enjoy the scenario system.

Lastly, and maybe most importantly is the addition of Heroic Scenarios. These are scenarios that are tuned to be much more difficult and that grant higher level rewards. They do however require pre-made groups so you can not just jump into one via a queue system. When you complete one you will be awarded valor points and a chance to obtain a raid finder level item. This means that everyone out there that wants raid level gear, but just doesn’t have the time to raid (or the luck to get a LFR group that can defeat a boss) can still get some new gear.

The scenarios that will be available with a heroic mode are the four new ones listed above as well as Crypt of Forgotten Kings and A Brewing Storm. More may be added later.

New Arena and Battleground

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For all you PVP players out there patch 5.3 brings you some love in the form of a new battleground and arena. This will provide more options for your PVP enjoyment and some new tests for the arena crowd.

The battleground is called Deepwind Gorge and is located in the Valley of the Four Winds. The battleground is all about protecting and gathering resources at a mine in the area.

The new arena is called The Tiger’s Peak and is located at the Temple of the White Tiger in the Kun-Lai mountains. The arena features tiger statues for line of sight blocking and fenced platforms to block melee. Can you find a way to make the best use of these to win here?

PVP Changes

Coming in patch 5.3 are massive changes to how PVP gear functions. Much is changing, in fact too much to cover in a brief update here, so we will just list a couple in point form for you.

• Item level cap in arenas and battlegrounds (all item normalized down to 496)
• Base resilience for all players will be 65%
• Most PVP items will no longer have resilence, instead you will need to add it with gems or enchantments.
• Healers will get more benefit from PVP power than they used to

Escalation Quest Campaign

This is a whole new quest chain that you can play through that tells the story of the escalating discontent towards the Warcheif Garrosh. The Darkspear Trolls are now in open rebellion against the Warchief.

You can lend your help to them through this quest chain that will grant rewards, expand the lore of this expansion, and open up a new battlefield for PVP combat. The new battlefield is in the Northern Barrens and in it you can help your faction complete various quests and earn new gear.

Loot Specialization in Raids and Dungeons

You are now able to select which loot you would like to be eligible for in raids and dungeons. This means that if you are running as a tank in a raid, but have all of the tanking gear already, you could pick to be eligible for either healer or DPS gear instead.

This is a great option for players that use the LFR of LFG system to find groups to play this content with, but have stopped using is because they already have the gear for their main spec. This allows them to go into a raid or instance as their main spec, but gear up their off-spec. Since loot is random as to who gets it anyway, this change doesn’t affect anyone else’s chance at loot and stops players from getting gear that they already have and will just sell of DE anyway.

Item Upgrades are Back

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The Voidbinder ethereals are back in the capital cities and will once again allow you to upgrade your gear. In addition to being back, the prices have also dropped. Now PVE gear that uses valor points to upgrade costs 250 valor for 4 item levels and can be done twice, meaning 500 valor for 8 levels. PVE gear that uses justice points to upgrade is now 750 justice points for 8 levels. Essentially his is half of the old cost.

PVP gear that is season 12 gear can be upgraded at the old costs, but no other PVP gear can be upgraded.

Pet Battle Changes

For those that participate in the Pet Battle system there are many changes inbound with the new patch. Just a few of them are:

• There are new pets available to catch in the Throne of Thunder and on the Isle of Thunder.
• You may now duel in dungeons and raids
• Other players may now watch you bet battle.
• There is a new weekly quest for max level pet battles, and the daily quest chain has been broken into three parts so that you can do part or all of it each day.

5.3 Patch Notes

Check out the full version of the patch notes here.