fbpx
Menu Close

Patch 6.2 Zone Preview: Tanaan Jungle, Upcoming WoW eSports Events, 6.1.2 Hotfixes: April 28

Let’s catch up on the news of the last part of last week!

Patch 6.2 Zone Preview: Tanaan Jungle

Quote from: Blizzard
Patch 6.2 Zone Preview: Tanaan Jungle

Deep within Tanaan Jungle, the manipulations of the warlock Gul’dan have twisted what remains of the Iron Horde into a sinister new form—an army of fel orcs brimming with demonic strength and insatiable bloodlust. Now Gul’dan continues his machinations from inside the seemingly impenetrable Hellfire Citadel, plotting to open a portal for a massive invasion force.

In Patch 6.2, level 100 heroes of the Horde and the Alliance must return to Tanaan Jungle and stop Gul’dan before his dark plans bring about untold ruin. As part of your quest, you’ll explore Draenor’s darkest corners, confront twisted new foes, and face a new series of chapter-based quests that will put everything you’ve learned on Draenor to the test.

TanaanJungleBlog-Felforge_WoW_LThumb_JM_500x200.jpg

Getting to Tanaan Jungle

One does not merely stroll into Tanaan Jungle—there are preparations to be made, including establishing a Shipyard for your Garrison in a bid to take on this new threat from two directions: both land and sea. You’ll progress through a series of quests in which you’ll be asked to build a Shipyard, begin an assault on Tanaan by sea, and set up a new forward base hub—Vol’mar for the Horde and Lion’s Watch for the Alliance. Completing missions will provide materials for your Shipyard, supporting your ongoing efforts to control the seas of Draenor.

TanaanJungleBlog-Entry01_WoW_Thumb_JM_260x130.jpgTanaanJungleBlog-Entry02_WoW_Thumb_JM_260x130.jpg TanaanJungleBlog-Entry_WoW_LThumb_JM_550x200.jpg

The Story Continues

Much like the previous Garrison Campaign chapter-based quests, a new series of random quests will take players through the developing story and further into the jungles of Tanaan, including key locations such as the cave in which Kilrogg sacrificed his eye. Over the course of your journey, you’ll learn that Gul’dan and his fanatical allies have even more sinister plans up their sleeves.

TanaanJungleBlog-Harbor_WoW_LThumb_JM_550x200b.jpg

Objective Hubs

Once your new outpost is established, you’ll go on the offensive and choose one of two hot spots each day to assault. Your goal is to undermine Gul’dan’s plan to drag the whole of Draenor into chaos. There are seven new areas to explore, including:

  • Ironhold Harbor: Stop the Iron Horde’s reinforcements from making landfall.
  • Ruins of Kra’nak: Stop Gul’dan’s Shadow Council from recruiting the arakkoa.
  • Temple of Sha’naar: Defeat demon-summoning Sargerei in this ruined temple.
  • The Felforge: You’ll need to throw a monkey wrench into the manufacturing of fel machinery.
  • The Iron Front: Hold the line in this massive battlefield to the west.
  • Throne of Kil’jaeden: You and your party will face elite creatures and attempt to stem the demonic tide.
  • Zeth’gol: Take your assault into the capital of the Bleeding Hollow.

TanaanJungleBlog-Throne_WoW_LThumb_JM_550x200a.jpg

More to Explore and Discover

There will be even more to discover as you make your way through the ongoing battle for Tanaan. Safety is an illusion, and the jungle houses more than just Gul’dan’s new Horde. The warlock’s influence has had a corrupting effect on the land, and the fel water that flows here taints everything it touches.

TanaanJungleBlog-Zorammarsh01_WoW_Thumb_JM_260x130b.jpgTanaanJungleBlog-FangrilaBeach_WoW_Thumb_JM_260x130b.jpg

You’ll also discover more minor quest hubs and a variety of wildlife, along with dozens of new treasures and Rare creatures just waiting for unwary travelers to stumble upon. The path through this treacherous place is yours to forge.

TanaanJungleBlog-Zorammarsh02_WoW_Thumb_JM_260x130.jpgTanaanJungleBlog-Fangrila_WoW_Thumb_JM_260x130.jpgTanaanJungleBlog-Spider_WoW_LThumb_JM_550x200.jpg

Upcoming WoW eSports Events

Quote from: Blizzard
Since the release of Warlords of Draenor, we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of WoW tournaments being run! In this thread, you’ll find an up-to-date listing of upcoming WoW eSports events.

May 2015

GCDTV

  • NA Tournaments every Friday and Saturday at 6 PM Pacific / 9 PM Eastern / 3 AM Central Europe
  • EU Tournaments every Saturday and Sunday at 8 PM Central Europe / 12 PM Pacific / 2 PM Eastern
    • No EU Tournament May 2-3 to avoid scheduling conflict with ProGameX
  • Live stream: http://www.twitch.tv/gcdtv
  • Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/gcdtv_

ProGameX’s Second WoD EU Tournament

ArenaMonster Opens 3v3 Tournament

Gamers League 3v3 Arena Tournament

Are you running an event that isn’t listed here? We’d love to hear from you! Get in touch with our eSports team by emailing [email protected]. Be sure to include “WoW” in your subject line!

6.1.2 Hotfixes: April 28

Quote from: Blizzard
6.1.2 Hotfixes: April 28

Here you’ll find a list of hotfixes that address various issues related to the recently released World of Warcraft Patch 6.1.2. Hotfixes are updates made on our end without requiring a new client-side patch. Some of the hotfixes below take effect the moment they were implemented, while others may require the realm to be restarted to go into effect. Please keep in mind that some issues cannot be addressed without a client-side patch update. This list will be updated as additional hotfixes are applied.

The latest batch of hotfixes are listed below. Previous hotfixes will be compiled by category to provide a quick summary of all hotfixes that have been applied since the start of World of Warcraft Patch 6.1.2.

Tags may be added to some hotfixes to denote a special condition.

  • [Requires a realm restart] means the hotfix will not take effect until after a scheduled rolling restart or maintenance.
  • [Hotfix in testing] means the hotfix is in early stages of testing and may not be implemented just yet. However, the change is important and is posted to provide as much advanced notice as possible.

Patch 6.1.2 Information


April 28

Class

Warlock

  • General
    • Fellhunter’s Spell Lock ability and the version of Spell Lock obtained through Grimoire of Sacrifice should now correctly share a cooldown with each other.

Quests

Legendary Ring Quest Line

  • An Inside Job: Reduced the number of guards present and amount for health on all guards in the quest area.

Southern Barrens

  • Run Out the Guns: Rageroar Rowboats should now continue to spawn.

Bug Fixes

Achievements

  • Home Alone can now be completed using alternate versions of a Hearthstone such as The Innkeeper’s Daughter or Garrison Hearthstone.

Raid Testing Schedule – April 29-30

Raid testing will continue on the PTR this week and an LFR wing will be open throughout the weekend!

Quote from: Blizzard
This Wednesday and Thursday, we will continue our Hellfire Citadel raid testing. As is always the case with PTR raid testing, it is quite possible that there will be technical or gameplay issues that disrupt our plans. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

Remember that Heroic difficulty scales for any group size between 10 and 30 players, so feel free to assemble and bring a group of any size within that range. Our general plan is to test every encounter on Heroic difficulty first, and then test sections of the raid on Normal and Raid Finder, alongside targeted Mythic tests.

Each encounter should be available at approximately the listed times below on all PTR servers.

Wednesday, April 29

Hellfire High Council – Heroic Hellfire Citadel
13:30 PDT (16:30 EDT, 22:30 CEST)

Mannoroth – Heroic Hellfire Citadel
15:00 PDT (18:00 EDT, 24:00 CEST)

Thursday, April 30

Hellfire Assault – Heroic Hellfire Citadel
13:30 PDT (16:30 EDT, 22:30 CEST)

Socrethar the Eternal – Heroic Hellfire Citadel
15:00 PDT (18:00 EDT, 24:00 CEST)

After the conclusion of our final Thursday test, we will open the Halls of Blood Raid Finder wing (Council, Kilrogg, and Gorefiend), and we plan to leave that wing active through the weekend. There will be no scheduled Friday testing.

As always, this testing schedule is very fluid and subject to the realities of a PTR environment. We might have to change the time of a testing session, change the boss being tested, or cancel a test entirely, due to bugs, server hardware issues, etc. Keep an eye on this forum for the latest information, and thank you in advance for testing and providing feedback.

Important Testing Notes

Q: How do I get into the raid zone?

A: In Stormwind, Orgrimmar, and your garrison, you may speak to Nexus-Lord Donjon Rade in order to teleport into the raid zone while it is open for testing. (The option to teleport into a zone will not be available when the zone is not open for testing.) You can also teleport to Tanaan and just walk in the standard entrance.

Q: How long does testing last?

A: The primary purpose of testing is to give us the information we need to balance the encounters, evaluate how mechanics are playing out in practice, and identify bugs. Once we’re satisfied that we’ve received that information for a given boss, we’ll be shutting down testing. Usually this takes anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours, but there are no guarantees.

Raid Testing Schedule – April 22-24, 6.1.2 Hotfixes: April 20 + 21

edit: updated post with the April 21st hotfixes

Raid Testing Schedule – April 22-24

Quote from: Blizzard

From this Wednesday through Friday, we will continue our Hellfire Citadel raid testing. As is always the case with PTR raid testing, it is quite possible that there will be technical or gameplay issues that disrupt our plans. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

Remember that Heroic difficulty scales for any group size between 10 and 30 players, so feel free to assemble and bring a group of any size within that range. Our general plan is to test every encounter on Heroic difficulty first, and then test sections of the raid on Normal and Raid Finder, alongside targeted Mythic tests.

Each encounter should be available at approximately the listed times below on all PTR servers.

Wednesday, April 22

Kilrogg Deadeye – Heroic Hellfire Citadel
13:30 PDT (16:30 EDT, 22:30 CEST)

Gorefiend – Heroic Hellfire Citadel
15:00 PDT (18:00 EDT, 24:00 CEST)

Thursday, April 23

Kormrok – Heroic Hellfire Citadel
13:30 PDT (16:30 EDT, 22:30 CEST)

Shadow-Lord Iskar – Heroic Hellfire Citadel
15:00 PDT (18:00 EDT, 24:00 CEST)

Friday, April 24

Tyrant Velhari – Heroic Hellfire Citadel
13:30 PDT (16:30 EDT, 22:30 CEST)

Fel Lord Zakuun – Heroic Hellfire Citadel
15:00 PDT (18:00 EDT, 24:00 CEST)

As always, this testing schedule is very fluid and subject to the realities of a PTR environment. We might have to change the time of a testing session, change the boss being tested, or cancel a test entirely, due to bugs, server hardware issues, etc. Keep an eye on this forum for the latest information, and thank you in advance for testing and providing feedback.

Important Testing Notes

Q: How do I get into the raid zone?

A: In Stormwind, Orgrimmar, and your garrison, you may speak to Nexus-Lord Donjon Rade in order to teleport into the raid zone while it is open for testing. (The option to teleport into a zone will not be available when the zone is not open for testing.) You can also teleport to Tanaan and just walk in the standard entrance.

Q: How long does testing last?

A: The primary purpose of testing is to give us the information we need to balance the encounters, evaluate how mechanics are playing out in practice, and identify bugs. Once we’re satisfied that we’ve received that information for a given boss, we’ll be shutting down testing. Usually this takes anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours, but there are no guarantees.

6.1.2 Hotfixes: April 20 + 21

Quote from: Blizzard
6.1.2 Hotfixes: April 20

Here you’ll find a list of hotfixes that address various issues related to the recently released World of Warcraft Patch 6.1.2. Hotfixes are updates made on our end without requiring a new client-side patch. Some of the hotfixes below take effect the moment they were implemented, while others may require the realm to be restarted to go into effect. Please keep in mind that some issues cannot be addressed without a client-side patch update. This list will be updated as additional hotfixes are applied.

The latest batch of hotfixes are listed below. Previous hotfixes have been compiled by category to provide a quick summary of all hotfixes that have been applied since the start of World of Warcraft Patch 6.1.2.

Tags may be added to some hotfixes to denote a special condition.

  • [Requires a realm restart] means the hotfix will not take effect until after a scheduled rolling restart or maintenance.
  • [Hotfix in testing] means the hotfix is in early stages of testing and may not be implemented just yet. However, the change is important and is posted to provide as much advanced notice as possible.

April 21

Raids and Dungeons

Blackrock Foundry

  • The Blast Furnace
    • Fixed an issue where Heart of the Mountain’s Tempered debuff could incorrectly persist on a player pet.

Items

  • Explorer’s Notebook or Garrison Scout Report used by players that already have an Exploration mission available should now be informed that they’re not eligible for additional missions of that type and no longer incorrectly consume the item.

April 20

Creatures and NPCs

Spires of Arak

  • Solar Magnifier should now allow players to loot it and no longer immediately despawn after being defeated.

Raids and Dungeons

Legacy

  • Siege of Orgrimmar
    • Galakras: Fixed an issue where players could not advance to Phase 2 because Anti-Air turrets were not spawning correctly.

WoW Token Coming April 21 in Europe, Heroes of the Storm Launches June 2

WoW Token Coming April 21 in Europe

Quote from: Blizzard
WoW Token Coming April 21 in Europe

The WoW Token will be going live in the Europe game region on April 21 at approximately 5 p.m. CEST. The WoW Token will be available for 20 EUR (15 GBP) from the in-game Shop, and will be set at a starting price of 35,000 gold in the Auction House across the Europe region. From that point forward, the gold price will automatically fluctuate based on player supply and demand. To start we’ll be limiting the number of Token purchases from the Shop to 10 within a 30-day period, and the limit on Tokens purchased for gold will be set higher—though keep in mind these limits may be adjusted over time. While Tokens will be available immediately from the Shop, please note that there may be a delay before Tokens put up for sale on the Auction House become available for purchase with gold.

Using WoW Token Game Time with a Recurring Subscription

You can redeem WoW Tokens while you have an active recurring subscription—there’s no need to suspend your subscription or resubscribe. Your recurring subscription will automatically pause when your currently paid-for subscription period ends (e.g. for monthly subscribers, at the end of your current 30-day period), and all redeemed WoW Token game time will be applied next. Note that you can have multiple WoW Tokens redeemed on your account at any given time. Once any accumulated WoW Token game time expires, your recurring subscription will automatically pick up where it left off.

Region-wide Exchange
As discussed in our original announcement, each game region (Americas, Europe, Korea, Taiwan, and China) will have its own shared WoW Token exchange.

Once purchased, a Token can then be put up for sale in a region-wide exchange via a new Game Time tab in the Auction House. While the rest of the Auction House will remain realm-based, a region-wide WoW Token exchange will provide the largest possible pool of prospective buyers and ensures everyone has access to a vibrant, active Token marketplace. In the Americas, Europe, Korea, and Taiwan, players who purchase a WoW Token from the Auction House will be able to redeem it for 30 days of game time.

Going for Gold
Because the Token exchange has to start somewhere, we will be setting the initial gold value of the WoW Token ourselves. The starting gold value in each region will be based on several factors, including regional in-game economies, but ultimately our goal is to select a fair and reasonable starting price. After that, the Token’s gold value will be determined dynamically based primarily on player supply and demand. Simply put, if more WoW Tokens are being listed than are being purchased, the price will automatically drift downward over time. If people are purchasing Tokens from the Auction House faster than they’re being put up for sale, then prices will go up accordingly. As a reminder, to help make sure players can trade WoW Tokens confidently, once a Token sells, the seller will receive the amount of gold they were quoted at the time they listed their Token.

Heroes of the Storm Launches June 2

Quote from: Blizzard

It’s been a jam-packed year for Heroes of the Storm, and now it’s time to rally your fellow heroes and get ready for battle, because the portal to the Nexus is about to burst wide open! We’ve just announced that Blizzard’s worlds will collide when Heroes of the Storm™ officially launches on June 2, following an open beta testing period that begins on May 19.

Heroes of the Storm will launch with more than 30 playable Heroes, over 130 Skins, 14 steadfast mounts, and 7 dynamic Battlegrounds, each with unique challenges to overcome—and even more Heroes, Skins, Mounts, and Battlegrounds are on the way! Over the last year we’ve also implemented over 430 different color Tints across our Heroes, Skins, and Mounts to help you customize your look so you can brawl in style. These color options will continue to be unlockable for free as you play your Heroes and seek to master them on field of battle. Rest assured that we’ll have even more exciting Heroes developments in the coming months.

Upcoming Launch Event

To celebrate the launch of Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard will be holding a live-streamed event on June 1 in London. Further information will be made available as the event draws near.

Heroes of the Dorm Championship

The Heroes of the Storm open beta test will follow on the heels of the epic finale of the Heroes of the Dorm™ collegiate eSports tournament. Students from more than 400 schools across the U.S. and Canada have bashed and brawled their way through the brackets, with more than $450,000 in tuition and other prizes up for grabs. On April 26, the final teams will face off at the Heroes of the Dorm championship match, which will be hosted at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles and televised live in prime time on an ESPN network and also accessible via WatchESPN—further details on the telecast will be announced at a later date.

For more information on this live event and how you can attend in person, please dive into our Heroes of the Dorm blog.

No Further Wipes

We will not be performing any further wipes, so any current progress or purchases you’ve made thus far during closed beta will carry through to open beta as well as post-launch.

Thank You for Your Continued Feedback

We’ve enjoyed sharing the Technical Alpha and Closed Beta with you, and your feedback has helped us make Heroes even more epic. Thank you, as always, to everyone who has shared their thoughts on the game with us thus far. We can’t wait to hear more from all of you as we move toward open beta testing in May, and the official launch in June.

Stay tuned for more updates, and we’ll see you in the Nexus!

Podcast Episode 61, Tenaan Jungle Screenshots

Please try entering https://graph.facebook.com/822778381143754/photos?fields=source,link,name,images,album&limit=1000 into your URL bar and seeing if the page loads.

The podcast is back this week and we talk about all things patch 6.2 from the new Tenaan Jungle zone, to raiding and the new timewalker dungeons! Below you can find our screenshots of Tenaan Jungle.

Facebook API came back with a faulty result. You may be accessing an album you do not have permissions to access.

Raid Testing Schedule – April 17

Quote from: Blizzard
On Friday, April 17, we will begin our Hellfire Citadel raid testing with one Heroic encounter: the Iron Reaver. As this is the very first raid test of this PTR cycle, it is quite possible that there will be technical or gameplay issues that disrupt the testing. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

Remember that Heroic difficulty scales for any group size between 10 and 30 players, so feel free to assemble and bring a group of any size within that range. Our general plan is to test every encounter on Heroic difficulty first, and then test sections of the raid on Normal and Raid Finder, alongside targeted Mythic tests.

Each encounter should be available at approximately the listed times below on all PTR servers.

Friday, April 17

Iron Reaver – Heroic Hellfire Citadel
14:00 PDT (17:00 EDT, 23:00 CEST)

As always, this testing schedule is very fluid and subject to the realities of a beta environment. We might have to change the time of a testing session, change the boss being tested, or cancel a test entirely, due to bugs, server hardware issues, etc. Keep an eye on this forum for the latest information, and thank you in advance for testing and providing feedback.

Important Testing Notes

Q: How do I get into the raid zone?

A: In Stormwind, Orgrimmar, and your garrison, you may speak to Nexus-Lord Donjon Rade in order to teleport into the raid zone while it is open for testing. (The option to teleport into a zone will not be available when the zone is not open for testing.) You can also teleport to Tanaan and just walk in the standard entrance.

Q: How long does testing last?

A: The primary purpose of testing is to give us the information we need to balance the encounters, evaluate how mechanics are playing out in practice, and identify bugs. Once we’re satisfied that we’ve received that information for a given boss, we’ll be shutting down testing. Usually this takes anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours, but there are no guarantees.

Patch 6.2 Preview – Timewalking, PvP Live Developer Q&A April 16!, 6.1.2 Hotfixes: April 13

Patch 6.2 Preview – Timewalking

Timewalking has now been confirmed! It will be part of 7 different weekend events that will be introduced in 6.2.

Quote from: Blizzard
Patch 6.2 Preview – Timewalking

As we get started testing Patch 6.2 on our public test realms, we’re looking forward to discussing all of the new features and content coming to World of Warcraft. First up, we’re excited to present Timewalking.

In Patch 6.2, we’re introducing seven different weekend events that will run from noon Friday through noon Monday every week. Two of those events will be Timewalking weekends, in which you’ll be able to queue up for a randomly selected old-school dungeon with a new sort of “heroic” difficulty: When you Timewalk these dungeons, you’ll find that your character’s power and gear has been scaled down to a fraction of what they normally are. For the first time in years, some dungeons you outgrew long ago will once more put your skills to the test.

A good challenge deserves a good reward, so to go along with scaling you down, we’re going through most every piece of loot in each Timewalker dungeon and scaling it up. That’s right, when you Timewalk through Utgarde Pinnacle, take down King Ymiron, and loot his Red Sword of Courage, it will scale up to an item level appropriate for use at your level.


Courage comes in several shades of red.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll test Timewalking on the PTR in the following dungeons:

Timewalking will be available to characters who are level 71 and higher for Burning Crusade content, and level 81 and up for Wrath of the Lich King dungeons. It will open up only during certain three-day-long weekend holidays. While Timewalking, your power will be adjusted down to the level of the Heroic dungeon, but you’ll retain all of your skills and talents. We will also be testing additional rewards, such as a level 100 quest that rewards one Seal of Tempered Fate per weekend, so keep an eye on the in-game calendar.


Patch 6.2 PTR testing is underway! You can get started testing with us by copying your character and downloading the PTR client. Once you’ve had a chance to try out the patch, visit our PTR Discussion forum to talk about your experiences. To report any issues or errors, use the in-game Submit Bug feature (found under Game Menu > Help > Submit Bug) or visit the PTR Bug Report forum.

PvP Live Developer Q&A April 16!

Quote from: Blizzard
This Thursday, I’ll join Senior Game Designer Brian Holinka to answer your questions live on Twitch. This live Q&A will be focused on PvP, in all shapes and forms: Arenas, Battlegrounds, Ashran, and so on!

When: Thursday, April 16, 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time (check here to convert that into your local time!)
Where: The World of Warcraft channel on Twitch.tv/WoW

You can submit your questions via Twitter by using the hashtag #WarlordsQA, or simply by replying to this thread in the General Discussion forum. As we’d like to get to as many questions as possible, we’ll only consider forum questions that use 40 words or less, and all questions must be submitted before 12:01 AM PDT on Thursday, April 16. Keep in mind that we’re focusing on PvP for this Q&A session — questions on other topics will not be answered.

See you there!

6.1.2 Hotfixes: April 13

Quote from: Blizzard
6.1.2 Hotfixes: April 13

Here you’ll find a list of hotfixes that address various issues related to the recently released World of Warcraft Patch 6.1.2. Hotfixes are updates made on our end without requiring a new client-side patch. Some of the hotfixes below take effect the moment they were implemented, while others may require the realm to be restarted to go into effect. Please keep in mind that some issues cannot be addressed without a client-side patch update. This list will be updated as additional hotfixes are applied.

The latest batch of hotfixes are listed below. Previous hotfixes will be compiled by category to provide a quick summary of all hotfixes that have been applied since the start of World of Warcraft Patch 6.1.2.

Tags may be added to some hotfixes to denote a special condition.

  • [Requires a realm restart] means the hotfix will not take effect until after a scheduled rolling restart or maintenance.
  • [Hotfix in testing] means the hotfix is in early stages of testing and may not be implemented just yet. However, the change is important and is posted to provide as much advanced notice as possible.

Patch 6.1.2 Information


April 13

Raids and Dungeons

Blackrock Foundry

  • General
    • The health and damage scaling of aspects of several encounters on Normal and Heroic difficulties have been adjusted to make them less punishing for smaller raid groups, to account for reduced availability of external cooldowns and the larger relative portion of the group that must deal with certain mechanics. Overall, these changes should make the encounters easier for groups with closer to 10 raiders, while having little noticeable effect for groups with closer to 30 players.
    • Kromog
      • Stone Breath now deals up to 20% less damage on Normal and Heroic difficulties.
    • The Blast Furnace
      • Foreman Feldspar, Security Guards, Bellows Operators, Firecallers, and Engineers now have up to 15% less health on Normal and Heroic difficulties.
    • Blackhand
      • The damage over time dealt by the Impaled effect has been reduced by up to 30% on Normal and Heroic difficulties.
      • Blackhand now has up to 10% less health on Normal and Heroic difficulties.