Zerter about Patch 1.21

Blizzard just released their next patch for WarCraft 3 in time for the Global Battle.Net Season 4 finals. GosuGamers caught up with the Dutch WarCraft expert Zerter of what he thought of the patch. Official patch change log is available to the right.

GosuGamers: Overall, what do you think of the patch changes?
- Based on the change log I don't think they really impact the game that much, but I do think the impact it will have will be a positive one.

Features

The game now runs natively on both PowerPC-based and Intel-based Macs.
Player can now view frames per second using the "/fps" chat command.

Fixes

Fixed a timing problem with the game on PCs with dual-core CPUs.
Fixed a crash that could occur with the Frost Breath ability.
Fixed a crash that could happen in multiplayer games.
Fixed an exploit that could happen in multiplayer games.

Important Note on Patching for Mac Players: The file layout inside the game folder is changed significantly by Patch 1.21. As a result, in order to be able to install the Frozen Throne expansion from CD, you must install Reign of Chaos first, then install Frozen Throne from CD, and then patch to version 1.21, in that order. If you patch to v1.21 and then attempt to install Frozen Throne after that, it will not install correctly.

Maps

New Maps
(2)SecretValley
(6)BomberCommand

Map Changes

(4)LostTemple (RoC)
The 4 Forest Troll Berserkers by the natural expansions now drop Level 2 Permanent instead of Level 2 Charged items.
(4)TurtleRock
The 4 Ogre Warriors along the outer pathways now drop Level 2 Permanent instead of Level 2 Charged items.
(6)GnollWood
The 4 Gnoll Brutes by the central Item Shops now drop Level 2 Permanent instead of Level 2 Charged items.

GosuGamers: Some say this is a patch that is positive for Human players. Do you agree?
- Yes I do, I think the changes made were mainly aimed at relieving the frustration some Human players had with item drops.

Lightning shield (which was among the item drops changed) is a very effective weapon vs. Human early game and can heavily disrupt a Human player's economy.

But on some level it can be considered positive to all players, the item drops changed should now vary less in strength which makes the game less luck based. Meaning the more skilled player should have a bigger chance of winning a game.

GosuGamers: What do you think of the map additions?
- Well, I think its always good to shake up the map pool a bit either by tweaking maps or adding new ones.

Secret valley is a proven competitive map, used in ESL's Pro Series and Champions League. It should be a good addition to the mappool and I'm hoping to see innovations on the map now that it will be played more.

Blizzard also tweaked some maps which they don't mention in the change log, such as adding trees on key locations in Twisted Meadows and Gnoll Wood to prevent creeps from going where they are not supposed to go.

Which are all of course good additions.

GosuGamers: Secret Valley has not been included in the ladder pool, do you think it will be later?
- That is very hard to say, Blizzard has a real mind of their own in these kind of matters. I would certainly say it is a possibility though.

GosuGamers: People had expected more, say a ladder reset and some more balance changes. Are you satisfied?
- Of course I'd like more, I think there just might be some minor balance tweaks possible and I don't think it would hurt to really shake up the map pool after all these years.

But I am happy with any positive change we see, the game is practically balanced and making big changes could potentially disrupt this.

So yes I'm satisfied, after five years Blizzard is still trying to tweak the game to perfection. And they can take all the time they need for it.