Hi Everyone,

Thanks for the commentary and replies about this. I wanted to take a quick second to point you all to the Not A Bug list and a comment I posted there on this issue:

• Large and small character models have slight differences in their combat reach, accurate to the original experience and distances.
  • Developers’ notes: It has been widely reported during the Burning Crusade Classic beta that Tauren have lost their “combat reach” in Arena specifically. This is not the case. While moving, Tauren may hit other Tauren through the widest point in the pillar in the Ring of Trials arena in Nagrand. This behavior is identical to the original functionality in The Burning Crusade.

While this is accurate, there is currently an issue that we are aware of that causes hitboxes, particularly Tauren hitboxes, to change size after being affected by polymorph effects until the affected character logs out of the game. We are going to work on a fix for this ahead of the launch of Burning Crusade Classic and the start of the first Arena season, but that would definitely explain some of what has been noted here.

Thanks for the commentary here and everyone’s reports so far in the Burning Crusade Classic beta!

We’ve gotten a lot of feedback about how much damage is necessary to break an enemy trapped in a root-effect, such as Frost Nova. Beta testers reported that it took too much damage to break root effects, and it turns out, they were correct. It took quite a bit of sleuthing to find the issue, but we ultimately found a bug that explains the odd behavior we saw in the Beta, and we should be able to fix it well before the first Arena season.

The Story

To start, one of the reasons this was such a challenge to find is that the behavior is intentionally random. There’s no fixed amount of damage that’s necessary to break roots; there’s a range of damage that might be necessary, which makes it a risk/reward calculation for the players. Reproducing the issue isn’t guaranteed, and testing it can look like normal luck streaks.

When this was first reported, we looked at the scripts on the spell, and verified that they matched the original data, which led us to initially conclude that this was just random luck streaks. However, we’ve seen previous examples of there being a deeper layer to issues like this one, so when the bug reports continued to come in, we knew it warranted further investigation.

What we’re looking at are scripts that are in data, so we can be confident that those match 100%. At the same time, we’re not using the exact same code as was used in 2007, so sometimes we see issues caused by steps we’ve taken to make the original data and the current code compatible with one another. Our next step was to examine the inputs to the spell script and verify that we really were sending all the same information for the script to evaluate. After completing an audit of that data, we once again concluded that this appeared to be just random chance. The data values that our code was sending the script matched, the things it did with the results from the script matched, and the script itself matched.

Everything we looked at appeared to be correct on all fronts, so after a second investigation we once again concluded that the random calculation was correctly matching our intent.

But it still felt wrong.

This is the point where uncovering a bug gets really challenging, and where sometimes we hope to get lucky. It turns out that after continuing to look at the bug and test it in the debugger, we saw an odd behavior: when the Waterbolt landed on a target that was in a Frost Nova, it was evaluated as though it was a melee attack, which is not correct. That turned out to be the clue that led us to the truth. There was no bug in the root-break calculation, the bug itself was a random.

The bug that would sometimes send the incorrect damage source to the formula. And since it wasn’t incorrect every time, we missed it on our code evaluation. It turns out that melee attacks are significantly less likely to break roots than ranged attacks are, and the bug was that ranged attacks could randomly be treated as melee attacks under certain hard-to-reproduce conditions.

The Conclusion

What made this such a challenge to find was that it was a randomly occurring bug in a system that behaves randomly when it’s working correctly, and two sources of randomness combined to confound us.

Thank you to everyone out there who helped us find this one!

A Hotfix is on the Way

One interesting aspect of this is: with this fix, the chance to break roots with damage will actually be slightly higher than it was in the first season of original Burning Crusade in 2007. This is because we’re using the 2.4.3 data, which raised the chances for damage to break roots slightly on targets above level 60.

But don’t throw away those mage alts! They still have Ice Block, too.

RT @WarcraftDevs: For pre-patch and the initial leveling in Outland, we're lifting the cap on how many dungeons a Burning Crusade Classic c…

On Thursday, May 20th and Friday, May 21st, we will be continuing our raid tests in the Sanctum of Domination.

Once mythic testing has concluded on the 21st we will be opening the second wing of LFR, The Dark Bastille, for the remainder of the weekend.

Thursday, May 20th

Soulrender Dormazain - Mythic Sanctum of Domination
13:00 PDT (16:00 EDT, 22:00 CEST)

The Nine - Mythic Sanctum of Domination
14:00 PDT (17:00 EDT, 23:00 CEST)

Friday, May 21st

Guardian of the First Ones – Mythic Sanctum of Domination
13:00 PDT (16:00 EDT, 22:00 CEST)

Remnant of Ner’zhul - Mythic Sanctum of Domination
14:00 PDT (17:00 EDT, 23:00 CEST)

The Dark Bastille – LFR Sanctum of Domination
15:00 PDT (18:00 EDT, 00:00 CEST)

As always, this testing schedule is very fluid and subject to the realities of a test environment. We might have to change the time of a testing session, change the bosses being tested, or cancel a test entirely, due to bugs, server hardware issues, etc. Keep an eye on this forum for the latest information, and thank you in advance for testing and providing feedback.

Q: How do I get into the raid zone?

A: In Oribos, Dalaran, Orgrimmar, or Stormwind, you may speak to Nexus-Lord Donjon Rade IV in order to teleport into the raid zone while it is open for testing. (The option to teleport into a zone will not be available when the zone is not open for testing.)

Q: What character should I use to test the raid?

A: Whichever you prefer. We will be scaling players’ effective level to 60 for raid testing, and their item level to an appropriate threshold for the encounter(s) being tested.

Q: How long does testing last?

A: The primary purpose of testing is to give us the information we need to balance the encounters, evaluate how mechanics are playing out in practice, and identify bugs. Once we’re satisfied that we’ve received that information for a given boss, we’ll be shutting down testing. Usually this takes anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours, but there are no guarantees.

We appreciate you taking the time to test our content and look forward to reading your feedback.

Greetings and welcome to Burning Crusade Classic Patch 2.5.1

Below is a list of known issues for Burning Crusade Classic patch 2.5.1. Please note that this list is not comprehensive and is not a complete depiction of what we’re aware of, but a sampling of issues we believe players may encounter with some regularity. We hope to have fixes to these issues in place soon, but we cannot promise when or if any individual bug will be fixed.

Also please note that this list pertains to issues that are present and visible during the Burning Crusade pre-patch period for patch 2.5.1. We will update this thread again with new issues as needed after Burning Crusade Classic has fully launched.

General:

• Microsoft Security Essentials may detect WoWClassic.exe as a trojan.

Graphics and Visual Effects:

• SSAO (Ambient Occlusion) is not currently changing the appearance of shadows in the game.
• There are flickering textures present in some areas of the Horde base in Warsong Gulch
• Some Reflective surfaces may appear too bright and shiny.
• Arathi Basin flags that are under attack or have been captured are too bright.

Combat, Spells, and Abilities:

• Casting the Mage spell Blink while facing a nearby wall may occasionally cause the spell to Fizzle and result in your character remaining in place.
• Energy Regen ticks can sometimes provide slightly more or slightly less than 20 energy.
• Damage taken while drowning is currently slightly different from the original Burning Crusade.
• Stealth animations for Druid and Rogue differ slightly on some races compared to the original Burning Crusade.
• Warriors that are slowed while changing stances may occasionally play a very slow “running” animation rather than the appropriate walking animation.
• Including /stopcasting in a spell macro can cause animation hitching or delays in some situations.

Items:

• The Aurora Cowl uncommon-quality item is missing its model.
• Some weapon enchants may be too bright or intense when first applied.

User Interface:

• The reset button for auction house filters is currently not present.
• The GetManaRegen() command does not always display the correct values in the chat log.
• Opening the Map inside dungeons in Azeroth areas displays the Azeroth world map instead of the zone map.
• The Flight Masters between Silvermoon and Tranquillien have incorrect dialogue for Blood Elf characters.
• Low-level quests are missing the dimmed font and “low level” text that is normally appended to the dialogue option when accepting the quest.
• When the scoreboard is open in Battlegrounds the zone map cannot be opened.
• Dispellable Magic debuffs are not highlighted as dispellable in the UI for Warlocks and Priests.
• The “To” field auto-complete may attempt to auto-fill character names of characters on your account on other realms.
• The recipe search bar is currently missing from the profession UI.
• The “Have Materials” checkbox is currently missing from the professions UI.
• There is no option under display options to Show Free Bag Space.

Sound:

• Attempting to cast Hurricane may sometimes cause the cast sound to persist and loop for several seconds.

What's the first thing you're doing once #BurningCrusade Pre-Patch is live?

As was the case with WoW Classic, there are many issues that have been reported to us in the Burning Crusade Classic beta as bugs, but are actually correct behavior in the original game, or are otherwise expected behavior in Burning Crusade Classic. Below you will find a list of issues that players have most often reported to us that we have determined are not bugs. This list is not comprehensive at this time, and more issues may be added in the future.

General:

• The level range for experience eligibility is much more narrow in Burning Crusade than it was in WoW Classic.
  • Example: At level 60, a level 48 monster/player will no longer provide experience or honor in Burning Crusade Classic, but in WoW Classic that same target would provide experience or honor.
• Health regeneration provided by Spirit varies by class, and is not equal between them.
• Moving between layers takes progressively longer with each swap. This is intended to prevent exploitation.

Combat and Class Mechanics:

• Large and small character models have slight differences in their combat reach, accurate to the original experience and distances.
  • Developers’ notes: It has been widely reported during the Burning Crusade Classic beta that Tauren have lost their “combat reach” in Arena specifically. This is not the case. While moving, Tauren may hit other Tauren through the widest point in the pillar in the Ring of Trials arena in Nagrand. This behavior is identical to the original functionality in The Burning Crusade.
• When pets are sent to attack an enemy and that enemy enters stealth, the pet will continue to follow the stealthed unit around but will not directly attack them until the unit breaks stealth or can be seen by the pet’s owner. This is correct and matches original Burning Crusade pet behavior.
• When pets are sent to attack an enemy and that enemy enters stealth, the pet will continue to follow the stealthed unit around but will not directly attack them until the unit breaks stealth or can be seen by the pet’s owner. This is correct and matches original Burning Crusade pet behavior.
• If a pet is in combat but the owner is not in combat, the owner can still perform actions like drinking/eating and use out of combat abilities, but is considered “in combat” when being evaluated as a valid target by abilities such as Sap.
• Friendly dispels against hostile debuffs applied by creatures and enemy players can be resisted. This includes abilities such as Tremor Totem, and is more pronounced when using lower level or lower ranked versions of dispel abilities to remove higher level debuffs.
• The chance to be dodged by creatures is slightly lower in Burning Crusade Classic than it was in WoW Classic.
• Heartbeat resists are present in Burning Crusade Classic and were present throughout all of the original Burning Crusade.
• While in a raid group, swapping players into a new party will remove party-specific buffs such as Battle Shout from the player that was moved.
• Diminishing returns on crowd control abilities use a randomized 15-20 second window before resetting back to their full durations.

Draenei:

• Heroic Presence and Inspiring Presence only display a visible buff for party members. Neither buff is reflected in the character sheet.

Hunter:

• Scorpid Poison does not scale with attack power or pet happiness damage modifier.
• Wyvern Sting shares a diminishing return category with Freezing Trap.
• It is possible to run quickly across a hunter trap and not trigger it.

Druid:

• Energy regeneration “tick” timers are reset when shifting into cat form.

Paladin:

• Paladin Seals will not proc from Crusader Strike damage as well as several other paladin procs and abilities (including Vindication).
• Not all Paladin Seals can be “twisted” into each other.
• Reckoning will not proc from damage-over-time effects.

Rogue:

• Cloak of Shadows cannot increase the resist chance higher than 80% against other players’ spells. The full 90% chance to resist does apply against non-player creatures.

Warrior:

• Bloodthirst damage does not scale from attack power gained via Improved Berserker Stance or Unleashed Rage.
• Initiating a charge or intercept against a focus target will cause your Auto Attack to begin against the focus target rather than your primary target.
• The One-handed Weapon Specialization talent does not affect the damage of Thunder Clap.
• Unused “charges” of Overpower will be lost on your primary target if an ability such as Whirlwind or Cleave is dodged by a secondary target.
  • Developers’ notes: This is somewhat strange and quirky interaction, and is a result of how Overpower was originally built. It essentially works similar to a rogues combo points in that if you generate a new overpower “point” on a new target, your current proc is lost on your primary target.

Mage:

• Arcane concentration will not proc from Blizzard damage.

Shaman:

• Coefficient damage from totems and item procs does not scale with +damage to specific creature types.
  • Example: Your Searing Totem will not gain extra damage vs. demons from the Mark of the Champion trinket.
• Chain Lightning can cause multiple procs of Lightning Overload.
• When totems such as Windfury and Flametongue affect party members in combat, the Shaman who cast the totem is also placed in combat.

Priest

• Prayer of Mending will proc from damage that is reflected back at the priest.
• Damage over time effects on a priest with the Reflective Shield talent do not cause spell pushback.

Raids - Karazhan:

• Nightbane’s Smoking Blast is doing the correct amount of damage and is being properly mitigated by armor.
• Skeletal Ushers are immune to shackle undead.
• The Side Entrance Door remains locked until you have completed the Attumen the Huntsman, Moroes, and Opera Event encounters. No key is needed and will automatically open when you walk near it if those three encounters are complete.

Dungeons - Blood Furnace:

• There is no speed buff after defeating the last boss and going into the exit tunnel.

Other:

• The Cenarion War Hippogryph does not have a ground animation in the original Burning Crusade. This was added in a later expansion.
• The Fel Lotus is a common quality item in the original Burning Crusade. It was upgraded to uncommon in a later expansion.
• Iron Grenades will fizzle on targets that are level 50 or higher.

I’m so glad I’m not the only one.

I listened to it for about 20 minutes just now.

Does this change just the daily limit or also the hourly limit?

The daily limit is lifted.

The hourly limit of 5 dungeons per hour has been a part of World of Warcraft for over 15 years and will continue to be in effect on both Classic Era and Burning Crusade Classic realms.

Hello!

The daily limit was a setting that we chose with great care last year, as we measured that it would impact an extremely low number of legitimate accounts, while giving us a helpful means to limit the impact of exploitative accounts before we could detect them and close them.

Now, with The Burning Crusade Classic pre-patch upon us, we understand that players are about to play WoW in a different way as they level up their Blood Elves and Draenei and then go through the Dark Portal and level some more. Over the next few weeks, the impact of the daily limit is more difficult to know, so we’re going to remove the daily limit on all Burning Crusade realms, effective with the launch of pre-patch.

As before, we will carefully observe player activity so that we can decide what daily limit, if any, is appropriate to enact after Outland leveling activities have peaked.

Thanks!

EU server maintenance will begin at 4pm PT, midnight in the UK.

#BurningCrusade Pre-Patch Day is here! Servers are down for maintenance. Catch up on the latest #WoWClassic info… https://t.co/orDLPbR6OZ

@Yuka_Yaku Incredibly sharp! 🔥

@J7Cass The axe was going through a phase...

@Deed5HQ You love to see it.

@BloodGatePrime This is a look that makes a statement.

@mattitude420_ This is what peak performance looks like.

RT @weenwem: Discipline priest ⭐✨ #Warcraft https://t.co/XoP4wZjZ1l

RT @WoWEsports: Announcing the Casters for The Great Push! There will be two more joining the desk - any guesses? The Great Push is the…