Blue News for Dec. 18th

PvP Gear Models
The look of the sets will improve as the seasons continue. If we started the first sets of PvP gear with asteroids orbiting the shoulders, in a couple seasons you’d be wearing Thrall on your head.

Under the current design philosophy, the idea is that in PvE you’re killing very rare and challenging creatures of Azeroth, while in PvP you’re receiving gear from the crafters (so to speak) of your faction to get you battle-ready. Chances are you’re going to be given the gear that’ll get the job done rather than the gear that has to be constructed entirely out of the nipples of a 7,000 year-old dragon. (Source)

PvP Gear and arena points/rating requirements
The highest-quality PvP gear is obtained via the arena system. Nothing has changed in that regard. Those who choose to focus on battlegrounds for all PvP engagement still have access to good-quality PvP items. Under the current functionality though, the arena system provides a much better measurement of skill over time investment than battlegrounds. With that being said, we are working to develop a better system for measuring performance in battlegrounds. We have been saying this since Wrath beta, however, we have no additional information to provide at this point.

The guy playing AFKave day in, day out should not have access to the same gear as the guy with a 2000 arena rating. This is mostly our fault and we’re working on a better system for rewarding contribution in battlegrounds. (Source)

Level 70 PvP Gear missing
It was not removed. We’re aware of the issue of this gear being currently unavailable and plan to make them available for purchase again in the near future. I don’t have an exact time frame for you right now. (Source)

Healer shortage
If there is a healer shortage at all, I expect it is because many players are still questing. Even if they are 80, there are a ton of quests in Icecrown, a lot of dailies, and things like Hodir rep to work on. While healing specs are probably better able to solo than they were in BC, we still don’t pretend they have all the damage and tools of a dps-focused character.

I also like to think that we made the dps-specs of priests, paladins, druids and shamans all a little more viable and fun to play than they used to be, so some healers may be trying those out. (Source)

Healing redesign
As I have frequently opined, healers who don’t like healing is kind of a tough problem to solve.

There are certainly healers who do like healing. That’s why they play the game. For them watching health bars IS enjoying the game. We don’t want to pull what they enjoy out of the game (at least without a very good reason). The question is are there enough of those players? If they are 1 in 100, then it’s a problem.

As I have also said, this is something we are spending a lot of effort to work on, but it is emphatically not the kind of change where a couple of simple tweaks get you there. (Source)

Winter Veil Gifts
There are some quests you can do which you can receive gifts, but the gifts under the trees won’t be available to open until the 25th. No peeking either! The Feast of Winter Veil doesn’t end until the 1st (midnight) of January. Hopefully, that will give everyone a chance to get a gift. If not, just think of all the joy you get of visiting your family and friends! (Source)

Fire Seed
Fire Seed is being changed to a gray item, its effect has been removed. (Source)