I have played the new patch on their test realm (Brill) and fully understand that every player of wow will have to re-learn how to play the game as there have been some major changes to talents, skills, learned talents and more.
I should also add at this point that you will notice some pre-cataclysm events such as earthquakes, I have only played the pre-release 4.0.1 patch briefly so that it wont spoil the surprise for me when it is fully released later on tonight.
I have noticed that they have greatly increased their graphics engine giving water a much smoother and realistic appearance than before.
They have removed the need for ammunition such as arrows and bullets which will save us from buying more and the chance of running out during battles which is useful but I'm sure it will effect the damaged caused on targets in a negative way, as in less hit points.
Below I have included some screen shots of changes to the game which I have taken from the test realm.
The first change that I noticed is the starting screen where you create a character as you can see from the screen shot below they have added Worgen and Goblins to the character creations however since cataclysm is not released yet they cannot be created for obvious reasons. Also on the character creation screen they have changed the character animations to random attacks and different stances, instead of standing there and looking pretty as prior releases to the game have offered. There are also additional loading screens of the character creation and game loading screens.
Additional to this change if you are a hunter you are automatically allocated a pet when you start the game which means you do not need to tame your first pet or have to be a certain level to get one for the first time.
When you start playing you will notice that there are a few more bits and bobs on the screen including intuative tips and hints that popup and a new ? in a circle at the bottom. If you press the ? shown in the second screenshot it will open or close a hint or tip offered by the game.
They have changed a lot of the game functions including spell books as shown in the below screenshot. You will notice that some of your old attacks and learned abilities have now disappeared and new ones have been created. I will let you see these for yourself.
You will also notice that your players talent tree has also changed shown in the image below.
I would like to also add they have allowed Hunters to use a function called “Call Pet” from 5 of your different pets quickly from your screen. You can swap any of these five pets with other ones you have tamed and captured. Also the stable master will allow you store up-to 20 pets which is 15 more than prior versions of this game.
Hunters now do not use “Mana” they use what is known as “Focus”.
Now while in game you may notice some weird happening as I have already said this patch is a pre-cataclysm release so things are starting to get hot and heated in the world of warcraft. Including earthquakes and Stormwind being under attack by mother nature in the form of elementals and more!
Hunters are now able to throw traps at enemies once you press the “throw trap” icon you will be able to select one of your traps by clicking on the one you wish to throw and clicking on the ground where you want it to land.
The following video shows how you can throw and select a trap.
Video showing trap being thrown provided by www.simplywarcraft.com
I’m not going to give much away and spoil the surprise but I have placed some screen shots below showing some of the events in Stormwind.
From here I will post some screenshots of the graphics engine update including new water textures and renderings, please click on the image to enlarge. I have noticed that ships and characters now make the water ripple which is a nice cool effect.
This video is created by www.simplywarcraft.com and features the water displacement function and actions of the water while swimming and passing of boats in the sun.
I have taken one video in the rain and another in the sunshine.
Video showing the new water effects while swimming and effects from boat passing while its raining.
Thanks for reading!
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