Elite PvP gear requires rating again in patch 5.4

There were murmurings of this change on the official forums a few days back, and now Senior PvP Designer Brian Holinka has confirmed via Twitter that there is truth in the rumors.

@oliviadgrace Yes 5.4 Elite gear will require rating and be purely visual. Still discussing what rating.

- Holinka (@holinka) June 5, 2013

So it seems that PvP's elite gear has almost come full circle. If you remember, back in the heady days of late Cataclysm, early Mists, Elite gear had a rating requirement of 2200. T2 gear, as it used to be called, also offered higher item level weapons, but was removed to smooth out the rating curve, as there was something of a hurdle at 2200, where all the players above you had T2 weapons, with higher item levels and stats, and you didn't. So the rating requirement was removed, and a conquest point earning requirement was added to be allowed to purchase the elite gear.

This didn't really give mid-rated players much to shoot for, once they were fully geared, which, particularly now in patch 5.3, isn't a difficult prospect at all. So, in patch 5.4, as part of an effort to add more incentives, rating-based elite gear will return. However, we've not quite gone back to where we started, as the elite gear will be purely cosmetic, with no higher item level and no improved stats. Holinka also confirms, via Twitter, that this will apply for weapons, too. Tags: arena, arena-guide, arena-strats, arena-tips, arenas, breaking, elite-gear, elite-weapons, featured, guide, how-to-play-battlegrounds, how-to-pvp, patch-5.4, pvp, pvp-guide, t2-weapons, wow-arena, wow-arena-guide, wow-guide

Filed under: PvP

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Elite PvP gear requires rating again in patch 5.4

There were murmurings of this change on the official forums a few days back, and now Senior PvP Designer Brian Holinka has confirmed via Twitter that there is truth in the rumors.

@oliviadgrace Yes 5.4 Elite gear will require rating and be purely visual. Still discussing what rating.

- Holinka (@holinka) June 5, 2013

So it seems that PvP's elite gear has almost come full circle. If you remember, back in the heady days of late Cataclysm, early Mists, Elite gear had a rating requirement of 2200. T2 gear, as it used to be called, also offered higher item level weapons, but was removed to smooth out the rating curve, as there was something of a hurdle at 2200, where all the players above you had T2 weapons, with higher item levels and stats, and you didn't. So the rating requirement was removed, and a conquest point earning requirement was added to be allowed to purchase the elite gear.

This didn't really give mid-rated players much to shoot for, once they were fully geared, which, particularly now in patch 5.3, isn't a difficult prospect at all. So, in patch 5.4, as part of an effort to add more incentives, rating-based elite gear will return. However, we've not quite gone back to where we started, as the elite gear will be purely cosmetic, with no higher item level and no improved stats. Holinka also confirms, via Twitter, that this will apply for weapons, too. Tags: arena, arena-guide, arena-strats, arena-tips, arenas, breaking, elite-gear, elite-weapons, featured, guide, how-to-play-battlegrounds, how-to-pvp, patch-5.4, pvp, pvp-guide, t2-weapons, wow-arena, wow-arena-guide, wow-guide

Filed under: PvP

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Elite Battle Pet quest line: Beasts of Fable

Have you ever read the great Pandaren book of fables? Pandaren pass these stories on to their cubs - stories of the cricket and the hawk, or the slow-moving turtle - to teach them lessons that they will find useful in life. What few cubs know is that these creatures exist, here, in Pandaria! Though the stories of their travels are made up, they are powerful denizens of this world. Should you happen upon them in your travels, you may test the might of your pets against their storied statures. Take on the fabled beasts!

Wowhead has published new information today on two quests from the patch 5.2 PTR, both with the same title, that allow the player to take on what's called an Elite Battle Pet. These quests are both known as Beasts of Fable, and the fact that one is a single quest, and one a daily quest, might imply that the quest becomes a daily after its first completion.

Commenter Ozlem states that the new Elite Pets are easy to spot thanks to their distinctive yellow pawprint icon replacing the standard green one. They add that these pets are of orange, or legendary quality, higher than the purple quality epic pets. Ozlem notes that so far he has found just one per zone, and listed out their spawn points. He adds that, fortunately, they cannot be killed at present.

What do the quests reward? The non-daily version awards a Red Panda pet, which you may recall Panser mentioning in her pre-PTR round-up, and the presumably subsequent daily versions award Fabled Pandaren Pet Supplies, which can contain a Mountain Panda, Sunfur Panda, or a Snowy Panda as well as the usual supplies.
Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
Tags: beasts-of-fable, elite-pet-battles, legendary-battle-pets, mists, mists-of-pandaria, mountain-panda, panda-pet, patch-5.2, patch-5.2-ptr, patch-5.2battle-pets, pet-battles, red-panda, snowy-panda, sunfury-signet

Filed under: News items, Mists of Pandaria

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