Friday, April 13, 2007

Patch 2.1.0 Goes Live on PTR

Word has been trickling out of the Emerald Tower of Blizzard for the past few weeks, that this upcoming content patch would be a milestone of progress for the company and the player community. With the launch of the patch on the Public Test Realms today, we only now realize just how extensive the game changes have been. I for one am amazed at the incredible detail and progress that this patch brings to the tBC and aside from the complaints that I have regarding these changes, I am very optimistic about the patch as a whole.

You can read the entire patch notes here. Grab a chair, pour a beer, and prepare for a long read.

Of particular note, is Blizzard's attention to both player bases, the raid oriented and the casual gamer. With the patch comes the much heralded Black Temple opening, and with it the requisite cry that Blizzard caters to a vocal minority of players, while the vast percentage of the population will never see that content. However, 2.1.0 opens three new quest hubs, and reputation factions that can provide the solo player and small group with more epic quality rewards.

Heroic mode dungeons have been retuned to make them more accessible to the non-raid geared player and possible even to the average pick up group. In addition, end heroic bosses are now set to drop epic loot on every kill, making them a significant alternative to Karazhan for the casual player.

Content additions aside, this patch has addressed hundreds of minor bugs, game inconsistencies and interface issues, that they players have been complaining about for quite some time. Auto-dismount options on action use, for example, or my favorite, Gnomes now able to run in the Black Morass water like everyone else rather than needing to swim.

Blizzard, great job with 2.1.0 and we look forward to more content updates in the coming months. Please continue this trend of expanding the game for all players, and addressing the bugs and game mechanics that your players are pointing out.

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