Daze of our lives, starring Drysc
by Mike Schramm 
Jul 2nd 2007 at 10:31AM
Drysc has laid out the science on exactly how Daze works. When we all first entered Outland, it seemed like mobs were Dazing us left and right, but it wasn't really clear why or how it happened. Now, months later, Drysc says they've gone over the Daze code again, and it really is "working as intended."Daze, he says, is based on a character's base defense rating as compared to a mob's base attack skill. The standard Daze rating is 20% (so if you're facing a mob of equal level and your defense rating hasn't been increased, then a hit from behind should daze you 1/5 of the time), and it goes up or down from there from 0 to 40%. Characters below level 30, interestingly enough, have a much reduced chance to be dazed (it's almost impossible for a level 1 character to be dazed by an equal level mob), in order to make the game easier when players first begin playing.
The reason Drysc gives for us seeing it more in Outland is a little shaky-- he says there weren't many actual level 60 mobs in Azeroth, and there are now quite a few level 70 (and higher) mobs in Outland, which means a fully leveled character will be dazed more. Finally, the reason, he says, for Daze in the first place is that they don't want to make it "safe" to randomly run through a group of mobs. "A cautious and alert player," he says, "is less likely to be dazed than one who is haphazard and careless."
My only problem with that is that I get dazed more not when I'm trying to run away from characters (I understand I'm going to be penalized when I sloppily run through a group of mobs), but when I get jumped while fighting. Should the same penalty apply when a single add jumps me from behind? And while we're at it, shouldn't being mounted lower the chance of getting dazed as well? Having a flying mount has made serious dazing tragedies much less common, but for characters still on ground mounts, shouldn't being mounted protect them a little more than being on foot?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Buffs
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Metaphyzxx Jul 2nd 2007 11:02AM
"...shouldn't being mounted protect them a little more than being on foot?"
That's the question I really want an answer to.
FireStar Jul 2nd 2007 11:03AM
@1. ditto.
JayOKC Jul 2nd 2007 11:08AM
People out in Skettis can be attacked on their flying mounts by the Kilari out there, and dazed off of their flying mount, of course sometimes leading to a less than desired end.
Corrodias Jul 2nd 2007 11:12AM
Heh, actually, Daze mishaps on flying mounts are usually more dangerous than those on land. It happens in Skettis if you're not keeping an eye out for those birds. They'll come up, they'll daze you, and you'll fall to your death, possibly in an inaccessible location. I've had to direct partymates to come find my corpse in the mountains.
What i'd like to see change is the rule that you're dismounted when dazed. Application of a speed penalty is one thing, but falling off your mount is another entirely.
Matthew Jul 2nd 2007 12:02PM
If you get dazed while fighting, does it really matter? It only affects movement speed, not attack speed, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal, unless you want to quickly escape or something.
Erica Olson Jul 2nd 2007 12:30PM
@5
It sure matters to me if I'm in the middle of casting and get dazed.
RogueJedi86 Jul 2nd 2007 1:03PM
@#6/Erica Olson:
Dazed has nothing to do with cast times. Getting interrupted due to being hit can hurt, but Dazed itself only affects movement, not casting.
ErsatzPotato Jul 2nd 2007 1:05PM
"for characters still on ground mounts, shouldn't being mounted protect them a little more than being on foot?"
No. Isn't that the point of his explanation why it works the way it does? Charging through groups of mobs at or near level is mostly done on mounts. Ain't fun when you catch a daze but that's the price paid for not going around.
While this is entirely a game design issue I'll offer the "realism" folks an explanation: you just got knocked off a horse. That can easily kill a person. You got knocked off a horse, fell on the ground, and something is pounding on your head. Heck yeah you're dazed.
The Skettis birds attacking ground is an acknowledged bug that should been caught before live.
The birds dazing off flying mounts is central to that faction grind. It's a mechanic to make the (let's face it, easy) egg bombing runs have some risk. Proof is that one of the rep items is a parachute cloak. The challenge is avoiding the dismount and if it happens the cloak's use prevents an instant kill because not every class has a way to survive falls. You don't get the cloak right at the beginning, so the earlier bombings are riskier. After the first few you're just farming.
It all fits together.
Got to consider these things from a game design perspective. Blizzard doesn't always get it right the first time around (there're reasons Outlands
instances are more SM than BRD) but the choices are never random. The dreaded "working as intended" is why we all enjoy the game.
Sylythn Jul 2nd 2007 1:15PM
I fully agree with the OP - I have no problem with the daze mechanic when I'm actually trying to run away from something. The issue I have is when I'm tactically positioning myself with an enemy at my front and an enemy at my back...and I get dazed...while just standing there.
Draig Jul 2nd 2007 1:22PM
Yet another benefit to being a druid is that getting dazed in flight form slows you down but doesn't shift you out. I didn't realise flying mounts worked differently until I did that skettis bombing run on my shaman for the first time and a stupid bird caused me to fall to my death.
Sleepy Jul 2nd 2007 3:04PM
"...shouldn't being mounted protect them a little more than being on foot?"
How about getting sapped while mounted? That one has always bugged me... That and not being able to feed my pet while i'm sitting down next to him eating.
To get closer back to the topic (but not 100%), has anyone noticed much difference with the new skills that have bonuses vs dazed targets in terms of game play? Seems to me that most of the targets that you care to do the bonus damage to aren't dazable... is that just intended to be a pvp thing?
infection Jul 2nd 2007 5:12PM
"While this is entirely a game design issue I'll offer the "realism" folks an explanation: you just got knocked off a horse. That can easily kill a person. You got knocked off a horse, fell on the ground, and something is pounding on your head. Heck yeah you're dazed."
If you are going for realism, this isn't going to work for your arguement. Jumping off a mountain 400 feet in the air and taking 9000 health (but have 1000 left) and not being dazed or falling off your mount... as compared to getting hit by a creature and you are "suppose to dazed in all reality because something is pounding your head"
sorry, lame example there.
Also, while we are on it, I'll agree with @11. Sap, stuns (rogue, pally). You get dazed on those but you still stay on your mount and can ride off when the penalty is up.
Lets start seeing hammer of justice and sap dismount poeple if we are going to try to make the game "realistic"
As it stands now, they have no reasoning to the logic besides "we don't want you running through an area free of penalties or drawbacks"
Gurei Jul 2nd 2007 5:28PM
Funny that daze dosnt serve its purpose,when i wana run by a grp i justa aoe freeze them and blink pass,its when im grinding and caught ofguard by 1 damn mob when i am about to drink that it sucks.