The First Beta Patch

First off, to anyone complaining about not getting immediate beta access despite having an Annual Pass: those of us who read the initial FAQs knew before we signed up that it meant guaranteed beta access, but not guaranteed immediate beta access. Quit complaining, and enjoy your free $50 game in May. You will get into the Beta before Mists goes live.

So, while I do not yet have access, the big news today is that Pandaria has opened up on the Beta. The Jade Forest (and possibly other zones) are open, as well as dungeons (at least Temple of the Jade Serpent.) Watching MMO-Champion's livestream, I think it looks very cool so far. I get the impression that the Jade Forest is a kind of cool, river and lake-riddled forest with a thick, shady canopy. The dungeon also looks very cool so far.

We also know what Pandaren Shaman Totems will look like (man, I will salute anyone who can manage to make a Pandaren who is not a Monk. I know I won't be able to resist. Maybe if I make one Horde-side... though then I don't know what class it would be. Anyway, the point is that their totems look like thin beer casks with a kind of stone cap. I imagine a lot of Dwarf shamans are enraged. Pandaren really look like they're edging in on the Dwarven love of beer. Actually, I think a really great minor glyph would be one that lets you change your totems to beer casks (though I do kind of like the "mining lantern" look that Dwarf totems have.)

There's also a lot of fragmentary stuff, like a "Black Market Auction House." My best guess is that this is a new neutral auction house that they actually want people to use. Honestly, I wouldn't mind this. I'm no economist, but I imagine that the broader an economy is, the fairer prices will be.

Interesting note is that all the Brewmaster abilities referring to Drunkeness have been altered. Drunken Haze is now Dizzying Haze, Stance of the Drunken Ox is now Stance of the Sturdy Ox. I can only imagine that this is one of those ratings things, though in a game where you can get drunk for a few silver, it seems a little overreaching. After all, Brewmasters are essentially supposed to be Drunken Boxers (a martial arts technique that does not actually require you to be drunk, mind you.) This isn't a dealbreaker, by any means, but I hope that they reverse this change. I mean, come on, getting your enemies so drunk they punch themselves in the face? Best tanking technique ever!

Let's see, other details I've noticed: It appears that the Dungeon Finder and Raid Finder have been integrated into a single interface, with a third option for Scenarios. For those of you who haven't been keeping up, Scenarios are low-key PvE instances that are Blizzard's replacement for group quests (something we didn't see in Cataclysm outside the Crucible of Carnage.) You'll be put in a group of varying size (depending on the scenario,) but with no tank or healer requirements, and then fight your way through some challenge. Presumably enemies will be weak enough to negate the requirement of a tank and healer, but I think most of these will be group-based, so you'll still have some comrades along with you.

As usual, I'll post more as new information comes out, or when I have a rant to inflict upon the internet.