World of Warcraft®

Do you have plans to make gathering professions more attractive instead of making them skills that you would be inclined to take up on one of your alts? - Nanahuatzin (LA)

Yes, this is an ongoing goal. Specialized nodes and raid/dungeon drops for gatherers are a good start. Because gathering professions essentially pull currencies from the ground, we feel they are a valid choice for many players, especially those who want to be self-sufficient.

Everyone in the group better be able to roll on those "special raid/dungeon drops". Everyone gets to roll on enchanters profession generated raid/dungeon drops. So everyone should be able to roll on the gathering professions drops.

05/16/2011 09:42 AMPosted by Cabal

The very first answer mentioned engineering.

Not anything specific pertaining to the future of our profession. Like, for instance, the fact that every expansion has given us goggles for ONE tier of content and then engineering becomes useless for the rest of the tiers.

Glad to hear that Archaeology is getting some love.

I hope that BiS talk doesn't discourage you guys from making "very nice but not perfect" progressive crafting pieces in the future. Alchemist Stones come to mind. It'd be nice if you could start out each raiding tier with a stone with the plan to eventually replace it later in that tier.

In Wrath, they added new recipes as raid drops or rep items with the new raids that come out in each major patch. It'll likely be the same deal for Cata.

Will there be a way to distinguish profession nodes on the minimap for those that have two gathering professions? - Discordia (LA)

That’s a good suggestion. We recently added the ability to see your target and focus target on the minimap, but the feedback we’ve received from players is that they clutter up the map too much. Coming up with unique icons that work with only a few pixels might be challenging. We’ll give it a shot though.

I may be missing something obvious here, but why can't you just create different colors for the different professions? So instead of every node showing up as a yellow dot, mining is grey, herbalism is white, fishing is blue etc. You won't encounter the pixel problem for small icons since you already do colored dots just fine.

The only real problem is when the mini-map is close to the same color as the node, but that is only a small detail that can easily be accomplished with different shades/vibrancy. It just seems like a simple and easy solution is being way over thought.

Will there be a way to distinguish profession nodes on the minimap for those that have two gathering professions? - Discordia (LA)

That’s a good suggestion. We recently added the ability to see your target and focus target on the minimap, but the feedback we’ve received from players is that they clutter up the map too much. Coming up with unique icons that work with only a few pixels might be challenging. We’ll give it a shot though.

That's an easy fix blizzard. You could just take the now yellow dots and make silver ones for mining nodes and brown ones for herbs. I'd say green for herbs but that's already taken by friendlies and pets.

Or just take from another game and make mines diamonds and herbs starbursts

Will there be a way to distinguish profession nodes on the minimap for those that have two gathering professions? - Discordia (LA)

That’s a good suggestion. We recently added the ability to see your target and focus target on the minimap, but the feedback we’ve received from players is that they clutter up the map too much. Coming up with unique icons that work with only a few pixels might be challenging. We’ll give it a shot though.

No need for coming up with unique icons - just change the color - currently all herbs, mining nodes and fishing ponds show as yellow dots on the mini map - just code all herbs to be blue dots, all mining nodes to be red, all fishing pools to be yellow...it ain't rocket science.

EDIT...It's funny that 3 posts almost simultaneously submitted on the same issue identify the same solution...and yet 6 years into the franchise blizz can't figure this one out...apparently they need to hire some rocket scientists, afterall.

No talking about Cogwheels and my cute goggles? :( I am a sad panda. *sniff*

But the other answers are nice....thanks for taking the time to answer them.

Gotta be honest. These answers make me happy. They answered the ones I really wanted too.

As far as the unique minimap icons for the gathering professions - why can't you have different color dots - they wouldn't clutter up things at all, and be discernible from each other.

Such as a green dot for herbs, a blue dot for fish (though after reading a post below and facepalming, a blue node would make sense if it wasn't in WATER >< Oh well, we all have our short bus moments.), a grey dot for nodes, etc.

Apparently I'm not the only super-human genius that came up with this revolutionary idea!

Blizz you have some pretty smart players, and not as creative a development team...

Attention brain dead engineers, read this a second or third time until you get the message about your goggles/cogs.

Will professions at some point regain the ability to make upgradable items, such as the Weaponsmiths had in the Burning Crusade? It was quite a cool concept, and wouldn't be unfair if all crafting professions would gain at least 1 of those items. - Hydramith (EU-EN), Auryon (EU-DE)

The concept of upgrading a piece of equipment is a very cool idea that we'd love to revisit, but not as a best in slot item. A crafted BIS item removes that entire slot as an interesting drop choice, and it strongly forces players into specific professions. For example, if there is a crafted best in slot weapon, you can bet a vast majority of players will feel obligated to take up blacksmithing, as was the case in the Burning Crusade. The profession perks, which are reasonably balanced, already add an incentive to take professions.

They're obviously trying to think of ways to do it that won't make engineering op. If it does happen it'll probably coincide with a glove tinker nerf so you don't get more than an 80 averaged base stat increase for taking engineering (ie, so it won't be op).

No need for coming up with unique icons - just change the color - currently all herbs, mining nodes and fishing ponds show as yellow dots on the mini map - just code all herbs to be blue dots, all mining nodes to be red, all fishing pools to be yellow...it ain't rocket science.

First of all they need to be contrasting colors. Blue isn't the best idea and red probably isn't either. Think bright lime green or yellow, not blue and red.

Secondly... blue for herbs? Color coordinate the markers. Bright lime green for herbs (leaves/nature=green), yellow for nodes (gold/mineral color=yellow) and possibly White for fishing pools (foam=white.)

I guess Blizz couldn't figure a family friendly way to word "We will continue to *@@* over Engineering every major content patch"

Will professions at some point regain the ability to make upgradable items, such as the Weaponsmiths had in the Burning Crusade? It was quite a cool concept, and wouldn't be unfair if all crafting professions would gain at least 1 of those items. - Hydramith (EU-EN), Auryon (EU-DE)

The concept of upgrading a piece of equipment is a very cool idea that we'd love to revisit, but not as a best in slot item. A crafted BIS item removes that entire slot as an interesting drop choice, and it strongly forces players into specific professions. For example, if there is a crafted best in slot weapon, you can bet a vast majority of players will feel obligated to take up blacksmithing, as was the case in the Burning Crusade. The profession perks, which are reasonably balanced, already add an incentive to take professions.

I take this as a "*@@* you engineering goggles"

No need for coming up with unique icons - just change the color - currently all herbs, mining nodes and fishing ponds show as yellow dots on the mini map - just code all herbs to be blue dots, all mining nodes to be red, all fishing pools to be yellow...it ain't rocket science.

First of all they need to be contrasting colors. Blue isn't the best idea and red probably isn't either. Think bright lime green or yellow, not blue and red.

Secondly... blue for herbs? Color coordinate the markers. Bright lime green for herbs (leaves/nature=green), yellow for nodes (gold/mineral color=yellow) and possibly White for fishing pools (foam=white.)

seriously...you're picking on me about which colors I suggested and not blizz for not being able to figure this out for over 6 years...I don't care what colors they are...they could pick violet for herbs for all I care...just do it already.

Very disappointed in Blizzard overlooking the goggles/cogwheel issue.

I guess Blizz couldn't figure a family friendly way to word "We will continue to *@@* over Engineering every major content patch"

I take this as a "*@@* you engineering goggles"

We continue to get the same stat boost from the glove tinkers that other professions get from their "enchants". Anybody who was expecting new goggles hasn't been paying attention for the last 2 1/2 years.

No questions that really definitively answered anything. "we'd like" "we'll see" "sort of interested" "it's still on the table".

And based on the ONE question related to fishing and it's answer it seems that the point, at least from my concern, has been completely missed with fishing.

There's nothing wrong with LEVELING fishing up. The problem is that there's absolutely nothing interesting about it other than a method to grind raid food, and nothing else interesting to catch.

[quote][quote]seriously...you're picking on me about which colors I suggested and not blizz for not being able to figure this out for over 6 years...I don't care what colors they are...they could pick violet for herbs for all I care...just do it already.

"it ain't rocket science."

Hey if you get to pick on Blizz I think I should be able to "pick on" you. =P Just showing you it requires a TINY bit more effort than you thought. ^_^

05/16/2011 10:21 AMPosted by Bombmagic

Just showing you it requires a TINY bit more effort than you thought. ^_^

yeah, but... it's not his job to think for blizzard?