40 AK is the new cap

[Noel]

Today's hotfix capped AK at 40...so in a little more than a couple of weeks most mains will be done with AK research. Unfortunately for us pet collectors that means instead of 10 emissaries per spec we need ~130...

I'm a tad salty.

[Quintessence]

It's unfortunate, but there's always a possibility that Blizzard will increase the AK cap back up to 50 toward the end of the expansion, as an extra catch-up mechanic.

We'll just have to wait and see what their plans are going forward.

[Darkchyld]

Well that's pretty lame. My monk and DK are pretty close to being ready for the AP grind (decently high ilvl, concordance of Legionfall, class hall champions) but having the AK50 multiplier would have been much time efficient. Guess I'll have something keep me busy earlier than expected.

[Gráinne]

That's disappointing, but I'm not changing any plans.

Blizzard stretched out the time to 7.2.5 already, with results already noticeable. 7.3 will be pushed back accordingly.

I'm guessing that this move is to prevent our AP getting too high during 7.2, and I expect AK50 will be back on the table in 7.2.5 or 7.3.

My DK is lazily resting in his Order Hall - well, garrison, actually, since he's serving as a spare tailor meantime - but I really can't face playing my monk. So, no rush. When AK50 eventually hits, I'll know it's time to do something.

EDIT: Ah. Found the rationale:

https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/20653889

Artifact Knowledge can now be researched to a maximum level of 40 (was 50).

Developers’ Notes: We raised the Knowledge cap from 40 to 50 very late in the 7.2 PTR cycle, out of an abundance of caution: We wanted to ensure that players of all playstyles, as well as alt characters, would view the Concordance trait as accessible. However, between the additional Artifact Power gains added in 7.2 and others that were hotfixed in after the patch released, we’re now well ahead of that mark. Knowledge 40 now seems more than sufficient for players to reach Concordance, and the prospect of months’ worth of additional Knowledge still left to research makes some players feel like their efforts in the interim aren’t meaningful. Therefore, we’re rolling the cap back to 40.

Yes, that's consistent.

[Paladance]

For a record, I've been researching the Artifact Knowledge from 25 without any gap I think (okay, just some hours after the patch) and my current alvl is 36 (and ~4/5 including the current research). It could be calculated back from then anyway.

Not sure what to think. My DK is 98 but has so weak gear I need to poke a certain person for some help… and I can never get the guts to do so! D: (Balefuls are 100+)

Monk is at firsties, will perhaps remain one of emergency characters for F2P at the moment.
Two rogues are in F2P stages aswell, and I see neither one as one of "silver alts"… though the DK was formerly a server bank alt, so everything can happen.
Druid is 54 doing Crysa dailies and turning in the dungeon weekly. Yes, I'll suffer the lack of gear again.

Sorry for the personal babbling.

[Mehetabel]

Most of my alts are at 30+ knowledge already, between tome boosts from my main and their own research. This change will slow things down slightly with the Monk and DK pets though, which is a bit frustrating. Oh well.

[Milotha]

I will just wait them out and hope it goes to 50 at the end.

[Noel]

I'm at AK 37 on my main (last night actually) so I've decided to wait the two weeks and send all my alts an AK 35 book. Then I'll just play them lightly getting order hall resources and unlocking the Broken Isles quests for each until AK 40. At that point I'll decide if I'm up for concordance on them....I'll probably focus on the monk and dk first.

I too believe they'll probably up the AK once 7.3 ships, however there's a pretty good chance we'll have unlocked all the class mounts by then...

Was anyone really going to try to max out concordance? I planned to get 1 point and not bother....my main has 47 traits...and I play him most of the time. Of course some people have concordance unlocked on two weapons already....

[Gilneas]

Today's hotfix capped AK at 40...so in a little more than a couple of weeks most mains will be done with AK research. Unfortunately for us pet collectors that means instead of 10 emissaries per spec we need ~130...

I'm a tad salty.

I'm not sure that's a meaningfuly metric. That's assuming the only AP you gain is from emissaries. But it's more than possible to do 4 WQ's that also give AP (and desirable to do so if your sole goal is AP). Nearly every activity gives AP in some form, even just sitting in your class hall doing missions (that itself can be quite lucrative in terms of AP).

I will just wait them out and hope it goes to 50 at the end.

Just delaying it longer than you probably have to. At 40 it's still not too difficult to get to the number of traits necessary. With a minimal effort you'd probably still get it before they increase the cap again.

[Quintessence]

I'm at AK 37 on my main (last night actually) so I've decided to wait the two weeks and send all my alts an AK 35 book. Then I'll just play them lightly getting order hall resources and unlocking the Broken Isles quests for each until AK 40

Good News! You won't need to wait to reach 40 after learning an AK Tome on an alt. From an [url=https://eu.battle.net/forums/en/wow/topic/17615702558?page=4#post-67]EU blue post[/url]:

"To that end, the item Artifact Research Compendium: Volumes I-VII is being changed to grant Artifact Knowledge level 40 instead of level 35. As before, it will be purchasable in the Order Hall by characters who have reached AK 40. This means that players will be able to immediately catch-up to the AK cap on alts once they have access to this book, which should make the process of getting to Concordance on alts less daunting too."

[Gilneas]

Awesome, did not expect that.

[Gráinne]

I will just wait them out and hope it goes to 50 at the end.

Just delaying it longer than you probably have to. At 40 it's still not too difficult to get to the number of traits necessary. With a minimal effort you'd probably still get it before they increase the cap again.

True, even at AK 40 it won't be scary, but I'm with Milotha here. I'm not in any rush. I'd feel cheated if I did 27 WQs I don't actually have to on that monk I dislike so much.

More information. Blue post https://eu.battle.net/forums/en/wow/topic/17615702558?page=4#post-67

To that end, the item Artifact Research Compendium: Volumes I-VII is being changed to grant Artifact Knowledge level 40 instead of level 35. As before, it will be purchasable in the Order Hall by characters who have reached AK 40. This means that players will be able to immediately catch-up to the AK cap on alts once they have access to this book, which should make the process of getting to Concordance on alts less daunting too.

Edit: Lol Quintessence scooped me I should type faster. Still, no such thing as too much good news!

[Noel]

Ah buying the AK40 book directly is great news, that means I'll be playing my 12 x 110 alts in a couple weeks lol. Blizzard was actually right, because I (and lots of others I bet) were literally parked till 50 AK.

Maybe all the iLvl 640 110 toons gave it away

[Maizing]

So... if my artifact knowledge is already over 40 (it's 43 actually), the remaining artifact knowledge research I have in progress is a waste of time and resources? Can I cancel the pending research?

[Gráinne]

Maizing, I think you may be looking at your number of traits when you say 43. It's not possible for anyone to be over AK40 yet. In 7.2, we were first allowed to go over AK25, and there is a fixed minimum time for each new AK level, so there just haven't been enough days for anyone to reach AK40.

I think my mage is as advanced in AK as it's possible to be, since I started on AK26 first day it was available and refreshed continuously since then, and I'm at AK 37. If you open your artefact and mouse-hover over the icon top left, it will show you, separately, how many traits you have purchased and what your Artefact Knowledge level is.

[Mehetabel]

Okay, really good news about the books!

[Uduwudu]

Hi,

I'm confused ... not sure what these numbers mean ... my shaman (Guruguru - Draka) has all 3 weapons top'd off in the AK department. I'm selling all the items that have AK ... can you believe it ... since I can not use them anywhere else ... so I'm not sure what the numbers mean ... I think the whole tree was like 25 and then I'm top'd off on 20 in that middle piece ... kinda weird to see these numbers, when I can not find them anywhere else ... and I have 7 characters past 850 gear level and all of them on the bonus side of the AK thing.

What's not adding up? The only pet I have from ANY class hall is the Shaman one ... I gave up looking for the others ... there are no quests anywhere for it, or battles that I can see! That means, Mage, Druid (only 2 weapons full on this one), Priest (all on Horde side on one account) and then Shaman, Warlock and Demon Hunter on the Alliance side ... same server.

[Quintessence]

I'm confused ... not sure what these numbers mean ... my shaman (Guruguru - Draka) has all 3 weapons top'd off in the AK department. I'm selling all the items that have AK ... can you believe it ... since I can not use them anywhere else ... so I'm not sure what the numbers mean ... I think the whole tree was like 25 and then I'm top'd off on 20 in that middle piece ... kinda weird to see these numbers, when I can not find them anywhere else ... and I have 7 characters past 850 gear level and all of them on the bonus side of the AK thing.

It sounds like you haven't completed the [url=http://www.wowhead.com/comprehensive-broken-shore-guide]Broken Shore quests[/url] Uduwudu.

There's a [url=http://www.wowhead.com/quest=47067]quest[/url] to increase your Artifact Knowledge (AK) cap to 40. (No one has reached this number yet because it's gated by timed work orders.)

There's also a [url=http://www.wowhead.com/empowered-artifact-traits-in-patch-7-2]quest[/url] that "empowers" your weapons, which unlocks more weapon traits (allows for a higher weapon level). I wouldn't vendor those AP tokens if you haven't learned the new weapon traits yet!

If you look at your artifact weapon talent tree, there's a number in the upper left corner of the window. The yellow number is your weapon level, and hovering over it allows you to see your Artifact Knowledge level. Weapon level and AK level are two separate things.

These numbers are what we're referring to. To collect the DK and Monk pets, we need to reach weapon level 52. Artifact Knowledge 40 will help make the process of leveling weapons slightly faster for players that don't actively play these classes.

What's not adding up? The only pet I have from ANY class hall is the Shaman one ... I gave up looking for the others ... there are no quests anywhere for it, or battles that I can see!

Besides the Rogue class pet, there are no quests associated with the other class pets. Here's a guide on collecting the [url=https://www.warcraftpets.com/community/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=16957]9 class pets[/url].

[Paladance]

Is it my daily fatigue or something is not (or is) quite right? Like, is it 5 days now?
EDIT: I derped.

[Darkchyld]

It's always been 5 days for someone who started research on the new patch. Only if you start late do you get a shorter research time, but it will never catch up to someone who started ASAP.