Blizzard nerfs Cataclysm dungeons

Blizzard appears to be saying one thing and doing another - patch 4.06 will make many of the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm dungeon encounters considerably easier than they currently are.

That's the doing part.

The saying part belongs to Blizzard uncharacteristically defending the difficulty of Cataclysm's Heroic dungeons this week, stating that they're not too hard and that they won't be made easier.

Evidently they will be; the largest section of the 4.06 patch notes belongs to Dungeons & Raids. Blackrock Caverns, Grim Batol, Halls of Origination, Lost City of the Tol'vir, The Stonecore, Throne of the Tides and The Vortex Pinnacle have all had boss encounters nerfed - that is, made easier, less powerful.

There's also a whole swathe of class adjustments, race tweaks, PVP alterations and some general guffery to read about. This is, after all, the first proper patch after World of Warcraft: Cataclysm tore up old Azeroth in December.

And what fun we had in Cataclysm, resulting in a fourth, unprecedented 10/10 for World of Warcraft from Eurogamer. And to think that once upon a time we scored WOW 8/10 - what was Kieron Gillen thinking?

Is there anything that can topple Blizzard's behemoth? That's what Eurogamer set out to investigate late last year.

In other WOW-related news, Eurogamer is running a huge fancy dress ("cosplay" to those in the know) competition that will bestow anyone brave enough to disguise themselves as something from World of Warcraft with a prize.