From the Patch 3.2 PTR Patch Notes:

Emblem System Changes

• Both the 10 and 25 player instances of the Crusaders’ Coliseum drop a new Emblem of Triumph.
• Any dungeons that previously dropped Emblems of Heroism or Valor, such as Naxxramas or Heroic Halls of Stone, will now drop Emblems of Conquest instead. Emblems of Conquest can still be converted to Valor or Heroism.
• The heroic dungeon daily quest will now reward 2 Emblems of Triumph and the normal daily dungeon quest will reward 1 Emblem of Triumph.
• The existing achievements to collect 1, 25, 50, etc. Emblems of Heroism, Valor, and Conquest have been converted to Feats of Strength since Heroism and Valor Emblems are no longer attainable.
• New achievements have been added to collect various amounts of any combination of emblems.

Forward

First and foremost, this is partially a rant and partially theory. Obviously anything on the PTR is subject to change and should not be taken as definitive, but this is a change that brings very strong sentiments on both sides of the debate. Feel free to launch into discussion in the comments.

Personal Thoughts

There have been a lot of changes that I’ve loved, a lot that I’ve disliked, and a few thousand I’ve simply been apathetic about. This one, however, I firmly despise. This goes beyond making the content accessible by a long shot, and makes “risk < reward” by quite a huge margin (metaphorically, but the concept is there).

I could easily see dropping Emblems of Heroism now and having all of the Heroics, Naxx, OS, and EoE all drop Emblems of Valor. This would allow Ulduar (10 and 25) to drop Emblems of Conquest. This makes sense to me as a perfect way to make the content a little more accessible without completely destroying the pride and accomplishments of all the people who worked to achieve any raid-content gear up to this point. I should not, at least under the scope of the game as it will exist in 3.2, be able to run 5-Man Heroic dungeons exclusively and be able to get two pieces of Tier 8 gear.

Positively Viewing the Changes

Now that my quick rant is over, there are some things to point out:

1. It is possible this will make finding groups to run Heroic content easier.
2. One type of Emblem is much nicer a system to work within (personal interjection: even if it is a flat-out stupid time to implement such a change after building up a hierarchy in the first place).
3. Gear will certainly become easier to obtain.

And I can’t think of anything else… Granted, I despise this change enough it is tough to think positively about it, and I’ll acknowledge that. The only reason I can see this happening so quickly after Ulduar’s release, however, is if we’re actually closer to another expansion than any of us realize. A fair warning, however: rushing the content through and making mistakes can be just as damaging as taking too long and having it perfect. Constantly changing the game in significant ways (not content-related) with every patch doesn’t help either.

Originally I was not going to post anything about Patch 3.1, but there was one feature that I really wanted to know more about. After struggling for a couple of hours to finally get logged in, I decided to post some initial thoughts and impressions regarding the new dual-spec feature and gear manager.

Disclaimer: Remember that this is currently on the PTR, and subject to change.

The Revised Talent Window (click images to enlarge)

Note that this feature is not available until you visit a trainer and purchase the ability to have two specs for one thousand gold (1,000g).

Dual Spec Interface, Implementation, and Thoughts

• Cost: Honestly, for the ease with which swapping is currently implemented, the way it changes the game in a huge way, and the overall cost savings when comparing paying fifty gold (50g) to swap specs currently, I’m of the mindset that this is a perfectly reasonable number. When combined with not having to repurchase and resocket glyphs, and having the convenience of action bars saved and restored, the initial gold outlay is easily understandable.
• To swap between specs one simply clicks the “Activate These Talents” button at the top of the window, the character goes through a five second cast, and *poof* specs are switched at a cost of all mana (I only tested this on my druid, but my assumption is that classes that do not use mana will swap at a cost of all “power”).
• There was not a cooldown that I noticed. I could swap my spec, then immediately swap it again. It appears as though there is no “base cost” and that it is simply that it drains all current mana when swapping.

The Gear Manager (click image to enlarge)

Note that this feature must be turned on in the interface options to be visible.

Gear Manager Interface, Implementation, and Thoughts

• The interface feels a bit “clunky” to be able to easily modify current gear sets. The only option I saw at a glance was to save an entirely new set and delete the old one. When I have time to look into it further I may find another option, and it may be as simple as clicking on an existing profile and clicking save. I did not have time to play with this feature further at the time.
• Another assumption, but it appears as though it is just like the macro system where gear sets can be placed in an action bar, which will make swapping quickly between sets simple.
• I’ve used Outfitter for a long time, and the speed with which gear swaps with the Blizzard interface is drastically faster. Although not really a huge issue, it was nice to see that it was not just implemented as an addon of sorts.

Parting Thoughts

Overall, these features are well designed and implemented. I would still like to see more flexibility in expanding the size of the talent window, and in being able to save “templates” to apply quickly like the addon Talented allows. The integration of the glyphs into the talent window is a no-brainer given that these swap when specs are swapped, and it seems more fitting to be there than in the spellbook.

I have not looked into the official documentation to know if the gear manager information is stored server-side just like the macros are, but I would be surprised if they are not. It seems to have been built with a similar interface and ease-of-use system in mind.

Now that I can actually log onto the PTR (hopefully consistently) I’ll provide a little more information on these topics if anything differs from my initial impressions here.