World of Warcraft®

As you may know, the quest to choose a specialty as an alchemist has been updated to MoP a little bit too early, leaving alchemists without the possibility to choose a specialty before MoP and, more annoyingly, forcing them to pay a hefty price in expensive MoP items once the expansion arrives rather than the cheaper Cata items that were required until now.

There was a blue message on the US forums regarding this issue :

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/6490580216

This part of the message gave me hope that something will be done about this issue :

While this change was intended to eventually happen, our intentions were not to leave alchemists without the ability to select a specialization prior to the expansion’s release.

Now I understand from the message that the change can only happen after the expansion arrives. So we will lose any proc that we could have had with Cata material until the expansion hits. Ok so be it, to be frank this is minor to me (and many other alchemists I presume) and I can overlook it if the main issue (having to pay with MoP items rather than Cata items) is solved.

However what happens after the expansion hits is where I need clarification in understanding what the blue meant exactly when he said this :

Both of them will be addressed in some manner once the expansion has been released

Now I don't know which of the two following interpretations is correct :

1) optimistic interpretation : "we don't want alchemists to be penalized by paying Mop items for not having been able to chose a specialty before the expansion, so we'll make a change in the september 25th patch to make sure they can specialize without having to pay Mop items (we just haven't figured out exactly how yet)"

2) pessimistic interpretation : "since alchemists will be able to craft MoP items after the expansion hits, we consider that the issue will be solved and we have no intention of going any further"

I am sure option 1 would be found satisfactory by most alchemists, while option 2 would leave a more bitter aftertaste in our mouth.

Thanks in advance for helping us understand what we are to expect from this message.

For me it is a problem, I am leveling some of my alts to lvl 85 to get them ready for Mists of Pandaria and I am also leveling their professions too. In the end, I think they should fix this before MOP comes... I mean, this kinda ruins what I had in my mind to do.

I opened a gm ticket for some answers, if I get some answers from the gm or here... I don't mind but I don't want my plans to be stumbled.

We have lives to live... thus, I think most of the people log in to relax, do their stuff and play without any over the top issues. It's understandable to wait until a new expansion comes if the games was F2P but we pay to play and for what we pay I expect to play without stressing out. I am saying this cause WoW and battle.net is rather large and has a reputation, there's millions playing and paying with different circumstances....

Anyways, if they say to wait till new expansion comes out. It's a bother... why should I repeat and waste my time. I play the game efficiently and how I like it and I thank you for that but saying till new expansion is like saying: "meh, too lazy... wait later and we can kill two birds with one stone"... in my opinion that's lack of professionalism and the right attitude is to do what you can do "now" to fix and not later when there'll be another hundredths of stuff to fix.

Anyways... this is my complaint and hope something will be done so there won't be another inconvenience... if this attitude goes on, it shows how much the staff care about their customers.

07/09/2012 19:24Posted by Detonation

WoW and battle.net is rather large and has a reputation, there's millions playing and paying with different circumstances....

and therein lies the issue.

rhetorical question (that means dont reply to answer as i already know)

would you prefer this to be fixed, at the expense of progress on mop content such as raids etc, or even further, the next patch? there are millions paying and playing, yes, however the majority will see this as a minor issue, which was only changed as a long term fix to accomodate the new expansion.

procs are not guaranteed, the probability of you hitting a proc if you use the specialization every day is quite high, but if you are preparing for mop you wont need it until then anyway. if you want to use it now then that isnt covered by your reasoning for wanting it fixed, and i as an alchemist dont see it as a big issue. youve had 2 years of cata nearly and you only have an issue with it now AFTER it was changed?

Hmm, there's always a majority and a minority but in the end every individual plays the game adjusting to his lifestyle or adjusting to his real life... only those extremes ignore reality.
In the end, I am an individual and so are you.. each individual might have different preferences... different ways of playing but in the end as a individual who pays, you expect to get what you pay for.
What you said sounds lousy, that excuse about losing expansion content and etc is just pure rubbish. In my opinion, big companies have their own department and way of organizing and they are working on the expansion quite for some time. They should have the resources to do both, continuing working on the expansion if needed and at the same time to make sure the game is running smoothly.

Conclusion, the thing: "with each player with different circumstances..." each individual plays the game when he can and when he plays, its expected to run smoothly when he starts playing. We all have lives and in my opinion, it doesn't seem right to adjust and play only when they say it runs smoothly. Don't something half-baked and make inconvenience for the costumers... do it properly. The other glitch is also with the inscription vendor... and I bet there's many more similar errors and its a inconvenience in the end.

Btw, if you look at my char and read what I said... you can guess how I play the game. I play leisurely when there's time and I relax, mostly lvl'n chars and then when its getting to hectic or busy in real life... I take a break from WoW. I came back few days ago just to prepare for Pandaria and few months before that I play for 1-2 months laid back and took a break and so on. I think I said more than enough, if you need debates.. go somewhere else. I'm just practicing my right as a costumer to know what's happening, cause the answer from the gm from the states seemed half-baked. I mean, you say you didn't intend it so and yet you're not going to do nothing about it... its like, let time fix it.

07/09/2012 19:24Posted by Detonation

I mean, this kinda ruins what I had in my mind to do

07/09/2012 20:39Posted by Gorebyday

but if you are preparing for mop you wont need it until then anyway

im confused by your reply. i dont mean to offend you, or to belittle your argument. you have a valid case to argue for a fix as i do for no fix. you still missed the two questions i posed that i expected you to answer to. firstly, as above quotes, why are procs an issue if you are only preparing for mop? secondly, what do you want? the "fix " in question would be to reverse the change, only to put it back again once the expansion hits. thats a waste of time and resources in anyones book.

07/09/2012 21:44Posted by Detonation

Btw, if you look at my char and read what I said... you can guess how I play the game. I play leisurely when there's time and I relax, mostly lvl'n chars and then when its getting to hectic or busy in real life... I take a break from WoW. I came back few days ago just to prepare for Pandaria and few months before that I play for 1-2 months laid back and took a break and so on

no, i did not look at your character, why would i? i reacted subjectively to what you wrote. i couldnt care less whether you agree or not, as i would have backed you had i thought there was a case for it. but your quote above does beg the question, based on the fact that you will have checked my character and activity.

"why the hell are you so special compared to me, because i play more wow than you?"
and that doesnt mean just me, that means anyone reading this, because your second quote smacks of god complex, with you wanting what you want because you want it, and you said so, as it makes your gaming experience more streamlined.

also, at a risk of being picky., theres no such word as costumer, its customer.

EDIT:

07/09/2012 21:44Posted by Detonation

it doesn't seem right to adjust and play only when they say it runs smoothly

erm, ever since the game was launched, it has evolved, with changes that players either adapt to or give up the game. its inevitable that some work better than others, and some are incredibly unpopular. however with only 3 posters in this thread im thinking the weight of public opinion isnt on your side currently.

Alchemists may have noticed that they are currently unable to select a specialization. This is because the specialization quest now requires materials from Mists of Pandaria. While this change was intended to eventually happen, our intentions were not to leave alchemists without the ability to select a specialization prior to the expansion’s release. You should be able to correctly select your specialization as of September 25.

All that says to me is;

We've accidently put in the Mists of Pandaria requirements that were originally going to change with the release of Mists. We did originally want to let you still choose a specialisation up until the release, so we'll fix this. We will make it so you can choose your specialisation again when Mists of Pandaria is released.

So, what is it then? Are we going back to Cataclysm requirements when Mists of Pandaria is released or is their so-called fix a distraction to the fact that they'll do nothing since when Mists comes out, it would of been changed to Mists requirements anyway.

This is just pure lazy of them.