Blizzard is gettin desperate! That's what I can come to conclusion when I saw the patch note for 4.1. Zulgurub and Zulaman is becoming 5 men heroics, WTH u thinking Blizzard. You took a good old school raid and you change it into something else. The only good news is the mounts I guess but still, Blizzard you should have known better.
Yep guys, the first major content patch of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is almost completed it's development stage and we are getting ready to push some early updates onto the Test Realms. So you may ask: What will be there in 4.1 Test Realms (I believe you will do so right?)? So, here it comes!
Remnants of the Gurubashi Tribe
Originally released in Patch 1.7, the classic 20-man raid Zul'Gurub will open its gate once again, bringing new stories, new encounters and fully refined items! Zul'Gurub is now a level-85 Heroic 5-man dungeon, to help the Cataclysm dungeons provide a higher tier of contents. Players may find level 353 epic items in this Heroic dungeon. You have to meet a mininum average item level of 346 to enter it.
The Return of Zul'Aman
The fan-favorite level 70 10-man raid Zul'Aman is also reborn as a level-85 Heroic 5-man dungeon. Zul'Aman and Zul'Gurub will both appear in the Heroic Dungeon list in the LFD tool, providing level 353 epic loot. You also have to meet a mininum average item level of 346 to enter.
Since Zul'Aman is back, you might be curious on whether the rare mounts will be back? Yes, we're proud to annouce that new rare-drop Raptor, Tiger and Warbear mount will be available, while the old mounts still have their unique beauty in hand. We will share a lot more on obtaining the new mounts.
Class Design
Though we only hope to do a small mount of balance changes in Patch 4.1, you can still expect multiple updates. The following are the ones we currently can share with you. Keep in mind these changes do not reflect all changes in Patch 4.1, and are not promised to be in the early Test Realm updates.
First we want to balance the area attack potentials between different damage dealing talents, you can expect changes regarding this one in the testing phase.
Inner Rage is now trainable at level 56. Originally it was given to solve the rage overflow problems, but it's not an issue to Warriors these days. We have implemented Warriors a new level 83 ability: Rallying Cry.
Colossus Smash now ignores 70% of target's armor, down from 100%. We'll buff the damage of other Fury and Arms damage dealing abilities to compensate that.
Word of Glory: We hope Retribution and Protection Paladins occasionaly do the right healing to others, but as we know Paladins sometimes feel that Holy Power is only for the healing. We rather like these specs use more Holy Power on damage abilities, and occasionally heal.
More to Come
We are still developing more features, updating balace changes and fix bugs for Patch 4.1. We will update the Test Realms in the upcoming days and weeks, and bring you more information on this.
Dungeons & Raids
Cataclysm Dungeon
- It's Not Easy Being Green Do not get hit by Bloodvenom, Pool of Acrid Tears, or Venomous Effusion in the High Priest Venoxis encounter in Zul'Gurub on Heroic difficulty.
- Gurubashi Headhunter Defeat Gub, Mortaxx, Kaolema, Mor'Lek, the Florawing Hive Queen, a Lost Offspring of Ghaz'Ranka, and the Gurubashi Master Chef in Zul'Gurub on Heroic difficulty.
- Tunnel Vision Defeat Halazzi in Zul'Aman on Heroic difficulty without killing any of his totems.
Exploration
Cataclysm
- Explore Vashj'ir no longer requires to explore Fireplume Trench
Eastern Kingdoms
- Explore Hillsbrad Foothills no longer requires to explore Lordamere Internment Camp, requires Brazie Farmstead instead.
General
- Petting Zoo Collect 100 unique companion pets.
- Menagerie Collect 125 unique companion pets.
- Vial of the Sands Learn how to transform into a dragon and carry an ally.
- Cataclysmically Delicious Sample 100 different kinds of food.
- Drown Your Sorrows Drink 50 different types of beverages.
- Thirty Tabards Equip 30 unique tabards.
Player vs. Player
Strand of the Ancients
- Steady Hands now requires you to disarm 2 seaforium charges in a single battle, down from 5.
Professions
Fishing
- The Limnologist now requires you to catch 45 different fishes, down from 48.
- The Oceanographer now requires you to catch 31 different fishes, down from 33.
Quests
- 2500 Daily Quests Complete Complete 2500 daily quests.
- Justly Rewarded Make 30,000 gold from quest rewards.
Kalimdor
- Bloodmyst Isle Quests now requires 60 quests, down from 65.
- Stonetalon Mountains Quests now requires 55 quests, down from 60.
Reputation
- 40 Exalted Reputations now rewards "The Exalted" title
- 50 Exalted Reputations now properly requires 50 reputations, no longer rewards "The Exalted"
Statistics
Dungeons & Raids
- Tracking statistics have been added for all Cataclysm encounters. (Mostly used by addons)