The creators of World of Warcraft are often praised for their
dedication towards keeping their game's content fresh and unique, and
the primary way that they do this is through a World of Warcraft patch.
If you are new to World of Warcraft, chances are good that you have
heard people moaning about the servers being down for patch day, but
what is really happening? Every week, the servers go down for routine
maintenance, and sometimes, when they come back up again, there is a
World of Warcraft patch that needs to be downloaded. This download,
usually no more than 300 to 400 mb in size is essentially meant to fix
previous problems and often to enhance the game in some way.
What
are some of the changes that a World of Warcraft patch might make? The
most common form of a patch is known as a content patch, where changes
are going to be made to things like the way that the characters do
combat, the functionality of an item, non-player character or even the
economy of the game. One effect of a content patch might be to adjust
the way a spell works or even to open up a new dungeon.
When a World of Warcraft patch
has been created, your game will automatically download the patch the
next time that you log in and it will automatically install. When you go
to open up your game after the patch has installed, take advantage of
the patch notes to figure out what is new about the game. In some cases,
the patches will be very small, while in others, the changes that they
make can be truly impressive. For instance, one recent patch change
created the possibility of dual specialization in terms of talents and
also allowed all characters to respend their talent points. The patch
notes are clearly organized so make sure that you at least skim the
sections that are relevant to your character.
Patches are often
greatly anticipated and there are many changes that might affect the way
that you play your character. Some changes are specific to classes or
professions, while other patch changes will affect the entire game. For
instance, a forthcoming patch is going to knock down the cost to buy a
mount
Another type of patch that you might run into is a hotfix
and a hotfix can actually be accomplished without a download or without a
server being brought down. These are usually fairly minor changes,
though they might be essential when it comes to the balance or the
functionality of the game. There are no patch notes, but you can see
information on them in the forums, in the Server Alert window as you log
in and in the in game message of the day.
Take a moment to make
sure that you know what you need to know about the patches in World of
Warcraft. This will keep you from being confused when the patches are
downloaded and the changes are initiated!