I.Heart.Engineering (Changes for 3.2 – Part 1)
I’ve been so busy with work the last few days, I really haven’t been keeping up with with all the new patch notes for patch 3.2. Some of them are definately cool and I’m looking forward to them, but it was with great interest I read a post on wow.com entitled: Patch 3.2 Upcoming Engineering Changes.
At first I was thinking….great, what are they giving us? A super duper walking stick to go with the handy dandy flashlight they gave us last time? Well, when I started reading the post, I practically peed my pants. These changes are awesome! We may still be the laughing stock of WoW professions, but at least we’ll be cooler laughing stocks!
Here is Part 1 of my take on all the awesome changes coming our way:
Added a new Mind Amplification Dish attachment for helmets, allowing engineers to control other humanoid targets. Some restrictions apply: does not work in Arenas, dish sometimes reverses targets, unable to stack with other stat-improving head enchantments and makes your helmet look… stylish?
Now this is cool, but since it doesn’t stack with other head enchantments, I likely won’t have it on my main raiding gear. I might, however, put it on my pvp helmet and try it out in the battlegrounds. Too bad it doesn’t work in arenas! But then again nothing cool from engineering works in arena *sigh*. I think the funniest thing is the ability for this to backfire…so I might go into mind control something and all of a sudden find myself mind controlled! Ahh…no one said living in the fast lane was fool proof.
Added a schematic for a Goblin Welding Beam that can heal friendly mechanical or vehicle units.
Now this might come in handy in certain fights. I’m wondering if it will be usuable in Ulduar while fighting FL…if so, that will be a way to make sure my chopper makes it to the end of the fight! It will kind of like the the Personal Electromagnetic Pulse Generator that I attached to my belt and use during the XT-002 Deconstructor fight in Ulduar to stop the little mechanical adds if they get too close to the boss.
Alarm-o-Bot functionality changed. Materials required reduced.
I have never used an Alarm-o-Bot, so I don’t really have any feelings on this one way or the other. I figure it probably comes in handy moreso on a pvp server, however, it really doesn’t say how the functionality is changing. Maybe it’s something cool like you can detonate your Alarm-o-Bot and it will rain evil bunnies upon your enemies! If that’s the case, I am SO using this as often as possible.
Box of Bombs no longer requires an anvil.
I really do like to blow things up (hence, the reason I am an engineer in the first place), so making it easier to make them is always a good thing! Now I don’t have to track down an anvil everytime I make them. Yay for us lazy engineers!
The Cobalt Frag Bomb now incapacitates enemies within a 3-yard radius. A short cast time was added, but they are usable while moving. This change applies to any Cobalt Frag Bombs already created. The existing recipe now makes 3 at a time.
I don’t really use Cobalt Frag Bombs anymore…I haven’t since I reached 350 in engineering and could start using Saronite Bombs. It still does less damage than the Saronite Bombs, so I don’t really see myself making a lot of these, however, it is good news for those engineers in between 330 and 350 in engineering.
Engineers can now learn to create a portable Wormhole Generator for Northrend. The Wormhole allows them to travel to different locations in Northrend, although the locations are sometimes in dangerous places.
Now this is one of the new gadgets I am most excited for. This is kind of like the Ultrasafe Transporters we have now, but it looks like we will be able to use them to transport ourselves all over Northrend instead of to just to one spot. And the chance of ending up in dangerous places won’t stop me! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve transported to Gadgetzan and ended up 100 yards in the air or as my own evil twin. That only adds to the excitement of being and engineer. Basically, this is another way of saying that if you like everything to work properly, ALL the time, then engineering is not the profession for you.
Stay tuned for part 2!
On the Blade's Edge
Trial of the Champion
A-bomb-inable
Champion of the Frozen Wastes
The Spellweaver's Downfall (10 player)
Exelus on 30 Jun 2009 at 3:57 pm #
Been considering Engineering for my Pally but don’t know too much about it other than I *need* a Roflcopter… can you give me the cliff notes on Goblin vs. Gnomish and endgame (raiding) benefits for this noble, if slightly unstable, profession?
Pyxia on 30 Jun 2009 at 4:37 pm #
Big question Ex! And a good idea for possible future post!
For me, there was no question I would train in the art of gnomish, engineering…after all, I need to stay true to my peeps! I would suggest going to wowwiki and looking at all the different gadgets you can make/use in gnomish vs. goblin engineering. Goblin engineering has WAY more bombs you can use…which is fun if you like blowing stuff up. For me, Gnomish engineering has more “fun” items like the Gnomish Poltyizer and a World Enlarger. Many of the items made by each specialty, can also be used by any engineer, regardless of specialization, the most famous example is the Goblin Jumper Cables. So as long as someone has it on the AH, you can still buy and use the item.
As far as end game raiding goes, not too many benefits associated with engineering beyond repair bots (scrapbots are cheap & easy to make) and healing potion injector kits. There are some really cool headpieces you can get while leveling up (I used my weakness spectralizers for a long time), but once you start getting tiered gear in Naxx, it will replace them.
Pretty much, if you’re going to do engineering, be prepared to spend a lot of gold for not much profit. We do have a few things we can sell, but mostly what we make can only be used by other engineers. But then again, can you really put a price on being able to make exploding sheep at the push of a button?