My original Vengeance tweet wasn't intended as a 5.4 announcement. I was trying to address concerns about the current iteration of Vengeance. Current Vengeance concerns include excessive tank DPS and motivation to do things like solo tank a two-tank boss. (Source)

Isn't that caused by a lack of severe tank swap forcing mechanics? Also agree tank dps too high, other than Warr
Still, a tank should never want to take more damage. He or she should want to avoid it. (Source)

What's considered "excessive"? Equal or higher to a damage dealer? 80%? 50%?
I hesitate to mention numbers because they will get dragged out every time it's not the case, but something like 50-80% is good. (Source)

Solo tanking is honestly the only valid concern, did you not think we were going to try to push our number to the limit?
I included the word "like" indicating that solo tanking was not in fact the only concern. Tanks should never want to increase the damage they take. (Source)
Make Vengeance scale with mitigation instead then. Rewarding tanks for damage taken makes no sense.
The benefit of damage taken is it also scales with content. Lei Shen hits harder than Hogger. (Source)

If vengeance is reaching these levels, why make it cap at health, did you think we weren't going to try to max that out too?
Health scales with gear. (Source)

There's just no way a tank should ever be out damaging a proper dps that is playing well.
In general, yes. The problem comes in say an add fight when the tank has 100% up time and DPS do not. (Source)

Now you think tank DPS is excessive and it wasn't the case 5-6 months ago. Anything in particular changed your mind?
The trend of trying to increase damage taken to increase damage done is a more recent one. (Source)

The proposed vengeance change will stop one tanking, but it won't fix tank dmg overall. even in 25H you rarely hit 50% hp AP.
Yeah, like I said, those numbers might not be right ones or even the right solution. (Source)
In retrospect I should have tweeted the problems we were trying to solve (as I did today) and not a solution in a vacuum. (Source)

What made you go with the Vengeance model instead of replicating the Death Strike model for other tanks? Curious.
The timing of Death Strike (5 sec vs. 20) is really important, which has advantages and disadvantages. (Source)

Make fire effects not trigger vengance and instantly solve everything
I've addressed this on twitter, and no it does not solve everything. Neither does nerfing paladin debuff removal. Any time a tank can increase both DPS and survivability by taking more damage, it's going to be a problem. (Source)

If you like "tank damage to be relevant", then why are the top DPS tanking classes so far from the bottom ones?
Some tank classes have to focus more on doing damage (which doesn't mean sacrificing tanking). Others get it naturally. (Source)

Survival->damage tradeoff has been around for ages, this has just made it really extreme. I like the change tho.
Yeah, survival -> damage done is fine. The problem now is damage taken -> survival + damage done. (Source)

Classes

• Paladin
  
  • General
    
    • Divine Protection should now be usable while stunned.

Quests

• Lighting the Way: Minimum level to start the quest has been reduced to level 89.
• That's a Big Bug: Minimum level to start the quest has been reduced to level 89.

Creatures

• Summonable bosses on the Isle of the Thunder King will drop their unique weapons more frequently.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

• Karazhan
  
  • Chess Event: Medivh's buff to damage on chess pieces has been reduced to 100%, down from 200%.
  • Chess Event: Damage from Medivh's fire has been reduced to 4k, down from 10k.

PvP

• Big Zokk Torquewrench should once again be selling their wares to characters that have attained the rank of Legionnaire (Horde), Knight-Captain (Alliance), or above.

Battlegrounds and Arenas

• Deepwind Gorge has been added back to the map rotation for Rated Battlegrounds.

Pet Battles

• Battle Pets
  
  • Unborn Val'kyr remembered that they can fly.

Items

• Quest rewards from Path of the Last Emperor should now be eligible to be upgraded for Valor Points.
• Fixed an issue where socket bonuses for a number of helmets were incorrectly giving a bonus to Resilience instead of PvP Power.

Battlefield: Barrens

• Adjusted the pathing for southbound caravans being escorted by players. Those caravans should now stop before crossing into Southern Barrens.

PvP Power
PvP Power is important because it allows us to make PvP gear better than PvE gear for PvP purposes.

PvP Power doesn’t count towards the ilvl budget, so for example, any Tyrannical piece with PvP Power in it should have around the same amount of stats of an equivalent PvE item converted to 496, PvP Power is a bonus stat that will make that Tyrannical piece have the edge over any PvE item.

It’s ok if players choose not to use PvP Power on gems as that means that we’ve managed to reduce the gap between PvE and PvP gear to a good level. If PvP power gems were a lot better than gems with PvE stats then that would make PvE players feel like they should keep switching all the gems on their gear every time they would enter into any instanced PvP combat situation.

I’m hoping to see many more players jump into Arena after 5.3, this is actually a good thing, even for the most Hardcore PvP players, more teams usually means more stability and by mixing the PvE and PvP population, it will probably become a bit easier to reach higher ratings as well.

There are many players that are skilled in both PvP and PvE but only have time to dedicate themselves to fully equip their characters into one of these roles, this patch means that such players will be able to enjoy much more content without feeling any huge competitive unfairness.

What you said is entirely understandable, except for one thing. Could you explain the purpose of PvP power gems? Because they only seem as a sub-par choice if pvp power is weaker then either pve stat on the whole spectrum, especially considering secondary stat gems are doubled in amount on gems as opposed to primary stat or pvp power. I am wondering what is the point for a sub-par stat to actually exist.
The gems were introduced when PvP Power and Resilience were much more valuable, we'll see what will happen to them, the verdict is still out there if they are or aren't useful in any way, and for any spec/class, players are still figuring out 5.3 stat weights for every combination.

If they really end up having no use other than to cause confusion to players, I’m sure devs will do something about it. For now I believe they’re still here mainly because they were here before, I doubt that they would have been added now if they didn’t exist before 5.3, but I could be wrong. (Source)

Druids Shifting and Roots
Druids used to be able to shift out of roots for a very long time, when we changed it during Cataclysm there was a lot of negative feedback about it since it felt like we were removing a druid’s core ability. Shifting out of roots was already seen as part of a druid’s identity, part of what makes them distinctive.

At that time druids just seemed to have way too much mobility as they were able to kite every single class to a point where no one would go for the druid in higher ratings, they would just be left for CC and/or maybe for a quick switch.

But that was back then, classes had fewer and less powerful abilities, in MoP devs decided to bring back root shifting because after taking into account all of the changes that the expansion brought to every other class, it seemed like the added mobility wouldn’t be overpowered anymore, also this ability used to be part of the druid class for such a long time that it felt really nice to be able to return it to them.

Having said that, stuff is being changed all the time, we’re focused on providing a balanced PvP endgame experience, but in a game of this scope, we have to accept that tuning is probably a never-ending process, and your feedback is key to make this work.

I have to admit that I also have issues peeling ferals in Arena, even on my mage. I’m just not sure if it’s my lack of skill, if they counter my classes, or are actually op.

Anyway I’ll let devs know about your feedback. If this proves to be a real issue, rest assured that there are plenty of ways to address it; for example, we could add a CD or make it break snares but not roots, but note that this will never be done lightly, we don’t want to keep adding and removing such core abilities, as that can quickly become frustrating for those who are playing the respective class, we try our best not to make big unexpected changes in the middle of an expansion but sometimes we have to do it. Balance is very important. (Source)

Professions
do you, collectively, want players to be dependent on other players' professions?
Don't have a strong feeling on that. We don't want players to feel they MUST have an army of alts to support all profs. (Source)

I guess what I mean is Crafting professions should be useful, not an afterthought for the average player
It has been a hard line to walk making them fun without forcing everyone to swap to whatever makes the best stuff at the time. (Source)

Any plans on other professions given a "catch-up" in MoP like BSmithing, Herbing, and Mining?
Yes. It might not be soon. (Source)

that's what I mean. Glyphs used to be a great money maker until you only had to buy them once.
We have to avoid making life annoying for every players just to guarantee some professions are profitable. (Source)

do you have any plans for a 3rd profession slot?
Probably not the way you're thinking. #crypticGCtweets (Source)

In future: starter-weapons could prob have lower mat cost and the end weapon could be higher. More commensurate with gains.
I think that's reasonable feedback. Just trying to avoid specific crafting skills feeling mandatory. (Source)

Any chance the TBC weapons will have a mat reduction? They're not profitable *and* take a month to make.
We think the problem was you couldn't start some of them until the forge opened. (Source)

Classes

• Druid
  
  • General
    
    • Thrash periodic damage component can once again be affected by critical chance.
  • Balance
    
    • Solar Beam and the Symbiosis version of Solar BeamSilence effect can no longer be reflected.
• Shaman
  
  • General
    
    • Elemental Overload version of Lava Burst should now properly deal 75% of the damage dealt by the Lava Burst that activated it.
• Warlock
  
  • Destruction
    
    • Fire and Brimstone can now only be cast when the Warlock has at least 1 Burning Ember active.

Creatures

• Elite versions of Quivering Filth should now have a chance to drop Half-Empty Food Container.

Pet Battles

• Pet Abilities
  
  • Blackout Kick should now correctly have a 100% chance to hit.
  • Deep Freeze should now only stun 100% of the time when target is chilled.
  • Fury of 1,000 Fists should now only stun 100% of the time when target is blinded.
  • Surge of Light should now only stun 100% of the time when the weather is darkness.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

• Throne of Thunder
  
  • Dark Animus
    
    • Anima Golems now generate more threat when attacking their current target.
  • Durumu the Forgotten
    
    • Crimson Fog and Azure Fog should now properly remain visible after being revealed by cones of light.

Battlegrounds and Arenas

• Deepwind Gorge capture points will now properly use the faction you have been assigned to when capturing mines.

Items

• Champion's Purse should now always award a Champion's Seal again.

Battlefield: Barrens

• Goblin Kor'kron Commanders' Throw Dynamite ability now deals 40% less damage.
• Shaman Kor'kron Commanders' Crackling Fury will now only increase in damage by 50% each jump, down from 200%.
• Warrior Kor'kron Commanders will now only cast Titanic Thunderclap when there are enemies within 10 yards.
• Some Kor'kron Commander abilities will no longer target or affect pets and totems.
• Fixed an issue where Overturned Caravans were despawning earlier than intended.

Brawler's Guild

• Challenge Card quests can now be completed while in a raid. Note that credit for defeating a boss will not be shared amongst party or raid members.
• Anthracite will now reset properly when a player dies or leaves the arena and can no longer be attacked by players spectating the fight.

Bug Fixes

• Achievement: Waste Not, Want Not should now be properly awarded to players that satisfied all but the Cooldown Power-Up requirement.
• Sound effects should no longer be cut out in areas with a large number of ambient sounds.
• Fixed an issue where some sounds were not playing correctly during boss fights.
• Fixed an issue where the raid warning sound was not playing correctly.

Valor Points Catch Up
That’s a reasonable and logical argument but I kind of agree with Máz here, in the sense that we can’t compare Conquest to Valor as if they were exactly in the same league, they’re quite different.

The conquest catch up lets you get some extra points in order to buy some initial Tyrannical pieces of gear in the middle of the season, the only other alternative would be to farm honor and get Malevolent or craft some blue gear.

In PvE, there are already plenty of other alternatives for “catching up” in terms of gear without having to waste any Valor Points, there are Heroic Scenarios, LFR, Challenge Modes, and even Arenas and RBGs… because PvP gear is actually decent to step into PvE since PvP stats like PvP Power are out of the ilvl budget.

Even though the ilvl of all of this gear will be lower than normal mode raiding gear or valor gear, they provide great upgrades at zero cost to those who’ve been away for some time, allowing them to quickly catch up with the current PvE content a bit faster.

But, like I said, I still find it a perfectly reasonable argument, and maybe devs can consider it for future updates, first let’s see how the PvP catch up works out for everyone and we’ll build upon and think about other possibilities from there.

I think this is more a question of how fast do we want PvE players to catch up with current content, and not if we want them to catch up at all, because there are already plenty of ways for them to do that. (Source)

Reputation / Questing
Or look at dailies. Blizz removed 25 daily limit, people burned out on it, doing ALL dailies every day.
Agreed that removing daily limit was a mistake. Not sure we made the right call with 10 vs. 25. (Source)
Why restrict people from running 100 dailies every day if they want to just because others don't want to?
Huge challenge for us. "Don't nanny me" vs. "Don't make me do all of this content." Very hard to solve. (Source)
But you're not 'making' anyone do anything. People who invest more time and effort get more rewards. Why is that a problem?
That's certainly one side of it. The other is players who feel like the game asks so much of them that they can't compete at all. (Source)

if you bring back limits on dailies, make them weekly limits, not daily limits, some of us like to grind out stuff in one day
I don't know that we need quest limits. Overall when we try to "save players from themselves" it can backfire. (Source)

so only one option that devs think is best > multiple options for players? You do realize that players can choose for themself
That's not what I said. I said if there are multiple ways to earn the same reward, players will take the most efficient. (Source)
We try to discourage that because it's not fun to do the same thing over and over. (Source)
And we try to discourage it by putting different rewards in different activities. (Source)
Then why the dailies? The essence of doing the same thing over and over.
The hope was that you would not do the same dailies over and over, but the reward system didn't reinforce that behavior. (Source)
E.g. you could have chosen GL one day and Klaxxi the next, but since GL unlocked other factions, it felt mandatory. (Source)
If your goal is valor or lesser charms, you honestly have a lot of options (as it should be). (Source)
"Which dailies will I do?" isn't options. It's dailies. No matter how appealing you try to make them. They're dailies.
Very few players cap valor and charms every single week. They still make progress over time. (Source)
Very dedicated and / or hardcore players might, but they are also the ones who want more and more stuff to do. (Source)
If you hate them that much, just don't do them. Yes, you might be a few ilevels behind your friends. Maybe it's worth it. (Source)
crap answer. Maybe Mr. Heroic raider doesn't need valor gear, but some of us lesser fools do.
But why do you *need* valor gear? And even if you do, you can still earn it even if you skip dailies completely. (Source)

With respect, by that logic, you shouldn't add new classes and races. They take time away from the older ones.
Some truth to that, but ultimately I think there is also a player expectation that we will add news ones from time to time. (Source)

Classes

• Druid
  
  • Talents
    
    • Force of Nature now summons Treants that have 40% of the Druid's health, up from 10%.
      
      • Balance Druid Treants: Cast time for Wrath has been increased to 2.5 seconds, up from 2.0 seconds, and damage dealt has been increased by 25%.
• Monk
  
  • Mistweaver
    
    • Surging Mist will again properly grant Chi to the casting Monk when healing targets other than themselves while Glyph of Surging Mist is active.
• Paladin
  
  • General
    
    • Divine Protection should now be usable while stunned.
• Shaman
  
  • General
    
    • Fixed an issue for Restoration Shamans where Ascendance did not divide the amount healed by Restorative Mists among nearby allies properly.

Quests

• Path of the Last Emperor: Seer Hao Pham Roo should no longer be overlapping with Lorewalker Cho.

Creatures

• Galleon should now use the correct loot table while awarding loot.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

• Karazhan
  
  • Chess Event: Increased the delay between moves for enemy chess pieces.
• Scenarios
  
  • Fixed an issue with characters not shape-shifting back into the correct race while under the effects of an illusion spell enabling them to participate in an opposing faction's Scenarios.

PvP

• Conquest Quartermasters (Armsmaster Holinka and Roo Desvin) have been temporarily disabled while we work to resolve an issue with the Tyrannical Conquest achievement.
• Big Zokk Torquewrench has been found by a search party and brought back from their extended leave of absence.

Battlegrounds and Arenas

• Deepwind Gorge has been temporarily removed from Rated Battlegrounds rotation while we work to resolve an issue affecting base capture.

Battlefield: Barrens

• Map markers for caravans that have been destroyed should now be properly removed from the world map.
• Overturned caravans should now despawn properly.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a crash on startup for Macs with the GMA 950 chipset.

The achievement, Tyrannical Conquest, is only intended to be awarded when players earn 25,000 Conquest Points. Due to an issue that was not detected during the PTR testing process, the achievement could be awarded much earlier than intended. We are currently in the process of working to resolve the issue.

In the meantime, we’ve applied a hotfix that temporarily prevents players from purchasing gear from Tyrannical PvP item vendors.

Heroic Scenarios
Punishment for players who aren't social?
There are a great many things to do in World of Warcraft for players that prefer to be less engaged socially, such as Raid Finder, Dungeon Finder, PvP queues, questing, etc. The fact that there are pursuits in the game oriented toward organized gameplay isn't a punishment.

Quite the opposite. Heroic scenarios represent a reasonable challenge. It would be misleading to present a queue, since in other cases they exist only for gameplay elements designed specifically for randomly assembled groups, and for those players who queue to struggle because the content wasn't designed with random queuing in mind.

I know it would mean stepping outside of a comfort zone, but if you want to try them out, maybe you'll actually find that you have some fun finding other players on your realm to explore them with.

Aww...first time I'm ever quoted by a blue and I was being silly. I definitely agree with the sentiment that it just isn't intended to be done with a random queue. I think it is a good thing to encourage people to work in teams smaller than 10 again since the social part of the game (outside of guilds is dwindling)
That's awesome to hear! I'm curious to see what you think of them after you've tried a few.

I hear the loot has the potential to be pretty good. And I just quoted you in particular because I wanted to address the argument (not your argument) that pre-made group content represents some kind of punishment. I also quoted you because you're awesome. (Source)

25k Conquest Achievement Fix
This is intentional. The achievement will be awarded once again after the issue that was causing it to be awarded too early is resolved.

Any estimate on how long this is going to be?
There's no ETA available at the moment, but it is something that we hope to resolve as soon as possible. (Source)

25k Conquest Achievement Fix
And I still can't buy stuff from the QM's. I won arenas and BGs, then logged over to an alt.... now I can't buy them on this character...
Both the achievement and the vendors have been disabled until a fix can be applied that resolves an issue that was allowing the Tyrannical Conquest achievement to be awarded too early. (Source)

Heirloom Discount
Which discount were you referring to, out of curiosity? I don't recall any patch notes referring to Heirloom discounts?

I believe that the the Heirloom upgrades were reduced in price from their original costs, though. Perhaps that's the source of the confusion? (Source)

Queue Times
We're definitely aware of the issue and are currently investigating it now, though we don't have an ETA for you just yet. Hang in there and we'll keep you informed should there be any further updates we can provide. (Source)