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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBlizz speaks on Life Tap
by Eliah Hecht 
Feb 25th 2008 at 3:30PM
Life Tap is one of my favorite mechanics in the game. It's elegant, it's clever, and it's just plain fun; it's a big part of the reason a Warlock is my third-highest-level character (behind my two 70s). And it's really a defining part of the Warlock class, along with demons and soul shards. So when they nerfed it on the patch 2.4 PTR, I was mad, along with a lot of other people. I still am.Anyway, two recent Eyonix posts have discussed the topic. First, he clarified that Improved Life Tap will work the same as in patch 2.3: you get more mana without losing more life. Zero talent points in ILT = 15% of your max mana for 15% of your max life, one point = 16.5% mana for 15% life, and two points = 18% for 15%.
Second, he confirmed the suspicion that like so many other annoying changes, this one was made for the cause of PvP balance. He states specifically that "we wanted warlocks to take a larger hit to their hit points when lifetapping in PvP." Just like the water issue, they're again claiming that this change will have little impact in PvE. He says this could even be played for a gain by stacking Int instead of Stamina -- but doesn't most good Lock gear have a lot of Stam? (Honest question, I don't know much about the state of endgame Warlock itemization.)
Really, can't they just make this ability work differently in PvP than in PvE, like they ended up doing with water? It might be confusing for the players at first, but I'm sick of Blizzard breaking my PvE game to balance the PvP game, and I'm sure PvPers occasionally feel the same in reverse. It's gotten to the point where if I could press a button to remove PvP from WoW forever, I would consider doing it, so they would stop screwing up the part of the game that I enjoy. But it doesn't have to come to that! Just balance the two parts of the game separately where necessary.
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 6)
bulgur Feb 26th 2008 4:53AM
"In between other heals"? Most healers, like any other class, spend very little time in an intense boss fight just standing around idling. If you do, your raid is probably over qualified for that boss and should already have moved onto the next progress level. There is usually something that needs to be done, either healing or something else. Even if the spell is instant, tossing an extra HoT on a warlock is still 1.5 seconds of GCD, plus the mana cost which can be a critical resource anyway.
Zhalseran Feb 25th 2008 4:00PM
Blizzard has said in the past that they want the PvP game to feel the same as PvE in that, you are using the same abilities and they are doing the same thing, but your opponents are autonomous instead of AI, which is why they can't just have ability x be completely different in PvP.
Personally I have to agree that the existence of high-end PvP (arenas etc) has had a large effect on this game, and a lot of the PvP balancing ends up screwing over PvE. I wouldn't say get rid of PvP since part of what WoW is, is one of the few games that really has great PvE AND PvP. However I do wish that there was some way for each to essentially remain mutually exclusive. Maybe if they were, I could still be hemo specced >_>
Iskur Feb 25th 2008 3:59PM
As a healer this is a nerf sucks. Lifetap can be enough of a pain as is. But now I got to worry about some warlock lifetaping down to 50% and wham solarian nails him with arcane missiles. I wish all you hard core PvPers would go buy are real PvP game and get the hell out of this MMORPG.
Doma Feb 25th 2008 4:01PM
psst. hey!
heyyy.
Vague blue posts "explaining" confusing nerfs? Welcome to the club.
Shamans feel your pain- well, kinda. We won't call this QQ if you don't call our outrage QQ.
I feel that the rules should be differ depending on the type of server. These "pvp balances" should not be marginalizing players on pve servers.
Iskur Feb 25th 2008 4:09PM
Hey I roll only on PvP servers because I like to be able to gank and raid Ironforge from time to time. I didn't roll a PvP server to get free epics and see my toons nerfed beyond believe because some shmuck insists on hardcore PvPing in an MMORPG. If you want to PvP all the damn time fine but be happy with what you get. If you want balanced PvP go by a FPS and get the hell out.
You cannot have balanced PvP and an MMORPG its not possible. The very nature of an MMORPG prevents PvP balance. Square peg meet round hole.
themann1086 Feb 25th 2008 4:39PM
The angle I take on this, is that Blizzard is busy breaking a class-defining mechanic in order to "fix" PVP on warlocks, while ignoring classes that actually NEED to be fixed, a la Shamans. Seriously, WTF Blizz?
Doma Feb 25th 2008 4:11PM
I guess it's QQ until it happens to you.
Love,
An Ele Shaman.
Here's the real issue: Blizzard's making these "balancing" fixes all over the place. Class mechanics included. Nothing is safe, even if you're not even on a pvp server.
KneverMind Feb 25th 2008 4:12PM
Maybe blizzard should make different realms - like PvP realms and PvE realms. They could even make realms for role-players!
What? oh.
Hoggersbud Feb 25th 2008 4:22PM
The problem isn't PVP in the world environment, but rather in the arena/BG one. So unless you'd intended to remove arenas and BGs from PVE servers, the actual server type you're on won't matter.
jrodman Feb 25th 2008 8:17PM
I support this no-bg no-arena concept. Sign me up.
Faar Feb 25th 2008 4:17PM
You'd best stop gloating now, regardless of whichever class it is you play it might well be you who's the victim of the next hamfisted pvp-related nerf blizzard decides to unleash on their customers.
Karma's a bitch and all that, best make sure you shut up and take it straight up your backside like a good slave without complaining at all...
Hopefully you're not a mage, remember all the crying when frost nova broke as soon as the rooted target received a crit for example? That one hit mages FAR less than this nerf on lifetap does to locks.
Besides, if you ever team up with a warlock at all - PvP OR PvE - why would you cheer at nerfs to warlocks? It's like shooting yourself in the foot. You just make yourself look like a shortsighted, narrowminded buffoon.
Markymark Feb 25th 2008 4:28PM
People think that just because your on a pvp server your a Arenahead. We'll I'm not i like the fact that i can gank at any time to break the monotony of pve. This change clearly affects both pve/pvp and it seems like some intern came up with the idea for the new LT lol.
Andrew Breese Feb 25th 2008 4:22PM
Totally uncalled for change, considering the dominance of some classes already (I'm looking at the hunters and rogues in pvp). I play pve and dislike the pvp game, but feel that without playing pvp I cannot progress further into the pve game. My warlock will dislike this change, and I'm not happy about the prot pally gear much either.
Angry Joe Feb 25th 2008 4:23PM
I've just quit my mage to level a warlock, is this nerf my fault? Maybe Blizzard doesn't like me?
Bayard Randel Feb 25th 2008 4:27PM
This change is absurd and completely turns one of our core class mechanics on it's head. Blizzard need to stop breaking PvE with their balancing for Arenas. Arenas are ruining the game frankly.
kw Feb 25th 2008 4:27PM
I wish Blizzard would just tell us if they're really going to start focusing solely (or even mostly) on Arenas. It's fine if they do, I'd just like a clear statement, so that I can move to another game and warn a few friends who are thinking of signing up.
Arenas are a fine addition to the game, but they really should be kept separate. We already have one mechanic that differs (diminishing returns on CC) in PvP, and one more coming up (the Arena water change). Surely it can't be that difficult to include the other changes in that "PvP only" subset, as the precedent for separating PvE/PvP has already been set.
- PvE / casual battleground player since Nov. 2004
Mats Feb 25th 2008 4:28PM
Can't V'Ming Chew write this post?
I think this post is best summed up in "I don't know much about the state of endgame Warlock itemization"
Really? Then WHY ARE YOU WRITING A ABOUT IT!? After all, thats where this change is hitting the warlocks.
Yes, warlock gear is packed to the rim with stamina, (often 2-3 times the amount of stamina over int) we have 2 cornerstone talents that focus on improving overall stamina and no other way to regain mana besides clunking pots.
And why is this change a problem, well, Daniel Whitcomb wrote about it 2 days ago, here ( http://www.wowinsider.com/2008/02/23/what-does-the-warlock-lifetap-nerf-mean/ ) It sums up the entire problem, it gives out the math of the change, how it will effect warlock gameplay and how this will make lifetap worse the better gear you have. It might be worth a read.
SpidermanPuddin Feb 25th 2008 4:28PM
I can see how and why you would want to nerf lifetap. It [i]kind of [/i]makes sense.... however you have to look at the big picture. we have life tap because our spell costs a lot of mana especially compared to other classes.
Take a look (all is untalented below):
[b][u]Fireball[/u][/b] Rank 14
3.5 second cast
717 to 913 damage +84 damage DoT
100% Spell Damage Coefficient
465 mana
[b][u]Shadowbolt[/u][/b] Rank 11
3 second cast (without talents)
541 to 603 damage
85.71% Spell Damage Coefficient
430 mana
[b][u]Starfire[/u][/b] Rank 8
3.5 second cast
549 to 636 damage
100% Spell Damage Coefficient
370 mana
[b][u]Frostbolt[/u][/b] Rank 14
3 second cast (without talents)
630 to 680 damage
81.43% Spell Damage Coefficient
345 mana
+snare
[b][u]Lightning Bolt[/u][/b] Rank 12
2.5 second cast
563 to 643 damage
79.4% Spell Damage Coefficient
300 mana
Now look at those numbers closely..... and tell me we don't need lifetap the way it is for PvP and PvE. Leaving it as in on PTR is making it next to useless in the arena if you really think about it. And yes, I know we don't primarily use Shadowbolt in arenas but this is just a glimpse at big picture. It's hard to compare our Damage (DoTs) to other classes with all the dispells and lack of DoTs from other classes. But if you look our spells scale very similar across the board.
hoviboy Feb 25th 2008 8:39PM
I don't play warlock but I don't understand something: is there no other way for a lock to get mana back? maybe with mana pots, or mp5
Diabla Feb 26th 2008 9:28AM
Mana pots are already used by PvE warlocks in addition to LT because our spells are just that inefficient. And unless we start stealing gear from the healers, there is no MP5 to be found on gear made for us. In addition, we have no talents to increase mana regen and the only talent we have to decrese mana costs, only does it by a paultry amount... (Cataclysm: reduces mana cost of *destruction* spells (shadow bolt, immolate and incinerate) by 5%)Shadobolt costs 465 mana. Cataclysm would reduce shadowbolts by only 23 mana. Needless to say, no one takes it :-/ We do have a talent that increases our stamina by 15% and recuces our spirit though :( If this change goes live, burn in an ever .... lasting.... fire, Blizz.