WoW Patch 4.0.3 Overview

Tags : wow patch overview, wow patch 4.0.3, wow patch notes, wow news

Tuesday is here and as expected the servers are down for maintenance. For those who have tried to log in today (myself included) a moment of excitement may have hit you as your game prompted you to download a brand new patch. For a brief second your mind might have wondered if this was the big one, when all of Azeroth would be shattered in preparation for the release of Cataclysm in just a few short weeks. Sadly enough, this is not the patch everyone was hoping for, that will come instead in Patch 4.0.3a.

Blizz (Link)

General

* Much of the data being downloaded in patch 4.0.3 will pave the way for the shattering of Azeroth shortly before the release of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm on December 7.

* The leader of Wintergrasp raids can no longer kick players from the raid (this change will also apply to Tol Barad in Cataclysm).

* When in a Looking For Dungeon group, using an instance portal to that instance will now take players to the Looking For Dungeon entrance point instead of the normal destination of that portal. This will make it easier to return to the instance after dying in an LFD group.

* Honorable Kills are no longer awarded for killing players below level 5.

User Interface

* Added pets to the new raid unit frames when displayed in party.

* The default UI Scale has been altered so it will be set at a 1:1 pixel/texel ratio. This will result in a smaller UI appearance for higher resolution monitors.

* Players may now adjust the local "Lag Tolerance" time for better precision of spell timing. This is an advanced-users-only feature found in the Interface Options (Combat) panel.

Bug Fixes

* Macros now handle spell variant transitions better. For example, Trap Launcher causes a different version of Frost Trap to be cast. Previously the macro system was not handling this transition properly.

* Queuing in Looking For Dungeon for a different wing of the instance a player is already in now works properly. For example, a party can now queue for Scarlet Monastery - Library after completing Scarlet Monastery - Graveyard.

* Killing High Interrogator Gerstahn before killing Emperor Dagran Thaurissan in a Blackrock Depths - Upper City random Looking For Dungeon run will now provide the proper reward. This also applies to Archmage Arugal and the Crown Chemical Company bosses in Shadowfang Keep during the Love is in the Air holiday event.

* Repeatedly inspecting other players should now function correctly.

* Area heal-over-time effects should no longer cause players to stand up.

* Male blood elves have received a crash course in dancing and now know to stop dancing when they run.

* Drake mounts have gotten bored with gliding and will flap their wings again when flying forward.

* Druid Flight Form now properly appears in the Spellbook before Expert Riding is learned.

* Sunfire's damage-over-time effect now deals damage at the same rate as Moonfire's damage- over-time effect.

* GM Ticket messages should now displace buff icons instead of obscuring them.

This patch (4.0.3) is a smaller patch that could be considered rather unexciting, however, it does fix many issues and helps pave the way for the bigger patch that will be release before Cataclysm. What do all these changes mean for you? Read on to find out:

General Changes

Most of the changes made here are small and deal with the player versus player aspect of the game world. However, even though the changes are small they should have a big impact on overall player experience.

No longer will players need to fear missing out on Wintergrasp because some spiteful raid leader removed them from the raid. This privilege has been hereby revoked, so once you are in the Wintergrasp raid, you are there for good, or until you remove yourself. This seems like a good change, however taking away the power of the raid leader completely leaves room for players to abuse the fact that they cannot be removed from the raid.

Also making our lives a little bit easier are the changes made when using an instance portal while in a Looking for Dungeon group. Yes that’s right ladies and gentlemen no longer will you take a portal only to find yourself a world and a half away from where you really need to be. Now when taking a portal you will be conveniently taken to the Looking for Dungeon entrance point which should make the return to the instance a much shorter and supremely less annoying affair.

And the final change in the general section is one that has me personally torn. Honorable Kills will no longer be awarded for killing players below level 5. This means even if a level 5 player or below is silly enough to PvP flag themselves, it won’t do you any real good to wipe them out. Except perhaps the personal satisfaction of wiping out a player, regardless of their low level, in one shot or the sense of guilty pleasure that usually accompanies such acts.

User Interface Changes

Once again this section of the patch notes is loaded with small changes, that may in the end make a big difference. For example, pets have been added to the raid unit frames when displayed in party allowing the group to know who has a pet out, what that pet is, and also making it easier for healers to target the pet and possibly keep it alive. This change is also another step in the right direction as Blizzard attempts to take the best parts of outside add ons and implement them in game.

On a more tech related note the default UI Scale has been altered, giving players with higher resolution monitors a smaller UI appearance. This means a more clean and less cluttered look, or if you are going for the cluttered look, more room to jam various things on your screen.

And finally for those perfectionists out there the local “Lag Tolerance” time can be adjusted to time for better spell casting precision. This will mean that players will better be able to gauge when they can start casting a new spell without cutting off the first without any down time in between. My guess would be this feature will be mostly used by high end guilds and the like. Casual everyday players probably need not ever worry about it.

Bug Fixes

The most extensive section of this patch falls here and while they seem like small things after glancing over and considering the various changes made here the more I realize how badly they really needed to be made. While much needed, the changes found here are mostly small and self explanatory, however, some of the more exciting fixes listed here are:

Players are now able to queue for a different wing of the same instance (think Scarlet Monestary) using Looking for Dungeon.

The ability to repeatedly drool over…I mean…inspect other players has been fixed.

No one will be subjected to the rather disturbing male Blood Elf dance more than they have to be, as they will now stop dancing when they run.

And finally dishing out some Boomkin love, Sunfire’s damage-over-time will now deal damage at the same rate as Moonfire.

To see what other changes have been made, read the full list of Bug Changes above.

How do you feel about the changes being made in this patch. Do you think they are deserving of their own patch or should have been combined with patch 4.0.3a? Join us on our forums to share your thoughts on Patch 4.0.3 while we wait (rather impatiently) for the servers to come back online.

Source: tentonhammer.com