Be careful what you ask for
by Natalie Mootz 
Aug 25th 2008 at 4:00PM
Amidst all the excitement surrounding the coming of Wrath and the beta testing revelations, I have a question. Does anybody care that Death Knights will be OP? I disagree with my fellow bloggers when they surmise that the upcoming Wrath world will not be overpopulated by Death Knights. On the contrary, I think you won't be able to sneeze without three Death Knights around you to say Gesundheit. And what's more I think they won't be a flash-in-the-pan like the Blood Elves and Draenei overpopulations were.I believe this because I hate tanking and have never liked playing melee classes (my main is an elemental shaman and my highest alt is a warlock) and yet I'm having HUGE fun in the beta realm playing a Death Knight. I've played the class PvE to level 65, trying all three specs multiple times. I no longer fear dueling. I solo group quests that are above my level. I can approach elites one level higher than myself, alone and with no fear. I just run into a group of mobs with little strategy and almost always survive.
Although I think the clarity of the purpose for each spec is still a bit muddy, I see Death Knights mostly filling a tanking role. (Perhaps this was Blizzard's response to the tank shortage? Make a tank so fun to play that lots of people will play them?) And yet Death Knights have soloing capabilities like warlocks and hunters -- only they survive better. They are by far the best soloing class I've tried. For illustration purposes, I even made a goofy movie showing how badly you can play a Death Knight and still take some serious names without dying once.
Blizzard has proved that it knows what it's doing over the last four years. However, the current class system even without Death Knights has always had complaints about balance. As even Blizzard itself has admitted, adding a new class is not easy. Perhaps I am wrong and the tweaks they are making to the existing classes for Wrath will make everyone feel like they are overpowered. As it is, though, playing my new Death Knight gives me such a feeling of power that I've never had in the game before that I can't imagine that there won't be a lot of other players like me when Wrath hits the shelves this fall. Will this be good for class balance? More importantly, will anybody care?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Death Knight
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Gabby Aug 25th 2008 4:15PM
We're still in Beta, most classes were either grossly overpowered of demeaningly underpowered when the game first came out, it's no shock that Death Knights, being a Hero Class and the first one to be added to the game since it's inception is actually overpowered. I'm confident the playing field will get leveled over time actually.
I've been able to make the same claims with group quests on my hunter, and easily the same claims on my mage when it comes to being mighty. So...
kabshiel Aug 25th 2008 6:12PM
Yeah, I wouldn't worry about overpoweredness just yet. Blizzard's said multiple times that they're still working on making the DK mechanics fun, but haven't really played with the numbers yet. I'm sure the DK will be pretty much in line with everybody else come release. They've already had many nerfs to their DPS and survivability in the beta, after all.
And soloing group quests isn't such a huge deal. As a warlock I could solo any quest that required 3 or fewer people easily. Sometimes even 5-man quests. And while grinding I ended every fight with full health and mana. Some classes get that little perk.
Cowy Aug 25th 2008 4:13PM
Will I care that Deathknights will be OP?
I'm a live and let live sort of person. If they can co-exist and not affect my personal game experience in a negative way, then they could be gods... it really wouldn't bother me.
However, should they intrude on my own enjoyment or hinder my characters progress, I'll care pretty fast.
Anaughtybear Aug 25th 2008 4:16PM
Maybe Blizzard intends death knights as a sociology experiment. If they are as OP as everyone thinks, perhaps people will stop crying about rogues, hunters and warlocks for a while. Maybe the people that play those classes will get a taste of death knight fury and decide they were wrong to mercilessly camp someone for an entire day. Perhaps everyone will start to play death knights and all things will be even, since it's the only class played. Then the field will be level and people will start to bitch about something even more trivial. Oh, and BE population never really died off. I can't walk two feet on my server without hearing the smug BE voices and seeing their fruity little jumps.
ScorchHellfire Aug 26th 2008 12:30AM
actually there is some truth to that... blizzard has stated that they often purposefully make classes op to get a lot of people to play them (and thus test them out) and then nerf them to where they should be (like the whole band wagon warlock phase...) and the numbers die off...
Imogynn Aug 25th 2008 4:20PM
Most of the tanks I know say they can definitely solo Elites even if they are above their level. They just can't do it quickly.
My Enh Shaman can solo group quests meant for 3 people at my level.
The DK up to 65 is about equivlant to what my Tier2/3 Hunter was doing in Outlands, and now that I'm close to 66 and my gear isn't rolling over I'm not doing all that great anymore.
Your impression of OP'dness is probably based on not having had OP'd gear in the past.
I think DKs may be a tiny bit on the OP'd side right now especially in their starting gear; but they aren't particularly better than other classes in similar gear were.
Sanol Aug 25th 2008 4:39PM
This is correct, personnally i got bored with a DK pretty quickly after the starting area, which is imba because of the story line not the class.
Anyways, i played with several DK's on the beta now, and although they are stronger than most classes i havent' seen them solo'ing elites above their level, atleast not more than i do on my retri pala :P
Natalie Mootz Aug 25th 2008 4:46PM
As I mentioned, I actually have tried to play tanks. The point is that I didn't have any fun playing them. The entire point of this article is that I believe DKs open up tanking and melee play to people who would otherwise not play them. DKs make it actually easy to play a tank.
Eisengel Aug 25th 2008 4:59PM
In pre-2.4 live my Spriest was able to solo 3-man quests at her level and elites at her level pre-70, specifically she solo'ed Tarantula 1st shot, and took down Terribus after the 3rd try, at their level. Post 2.4 patch and at 70 with some badge and S2 gear she can easily take out 3 or more 65+ mobs, my record is soloing 7 of the Sunfury casters at once around Manaforge Coruu on a horrendously bad pull while doing the Sunfury Plans daily. She can also solo nearly any non-world boss elite that is fearable.
I dunno, seems somewhat consistent with what a careful Spriest can do... although I certainly didn't start taking multiple mobs until I was 70 with some badge gear and S1 pieces... and wearing the somewhat overpowered FSW.
Alchemistmerlin Aug 25th 2008 4:19PM
A) Why should I care what other people choose to play other than "because it is something the community has always complained about"?
B) Everything you described about your experience in the Beta with the DK (Taking on group quests above their level, taking down mobs a level higher without having to worry) is my experience with my Paladin. I wade through groups of 4 or 5 monsters at least a level higher than me and emerge victorious without breaking a sweat.
Juneau Aug 25th 2008 4:45PM
Ditto with the hunter I've been levelling.
Antistes Aug 25th 2008 5:14PM
I second B.
Protpaladin as I am i took elites 3 (yes three) levels above my level without any problem (and it didn't take silly-long time). I also solo group quests for 2-3 persons and 3 mobs is the number i usually grab for every pull (my priest/warlock alts gets problems with 3, my pally has the same problems with the 6th or 7th mob).
Tanks are supposed to feel that OP, or we wouldn't be able to do our job.
That being said - my pally still fears duelling. Especially against droods and pallies.
Doc X Aug 25th 2008 5:20PM
Ditto with my Warlock.
Definitely not ditto with my Priest.
Imagine that. . . having armor and/or a pet to tank gives you much better survivability. I'm shocked!
Horixon Aug 25th 2008 4:20PM
I already hear plenty of complaints about how OP death knights are on beta. Honestly, I think Blizz is letting them stay OP til we are closer to release. That way the class will be hyped up plenty before they get nerfed, and more people will try them.
I am planning to make a death knight my main in the expansion, but I don't want or expect them to stay as OP as they are now. Yes it would be mildly entertaining to pwn everything and everyone for about a week. But I play this game because I like challenging fights, strategic combat, and formidable opponents. If you can decimate everyone in greens and blues, where's the incentive to raid for purples?
jay Aug 25th 2008 4:49PM
......"If you can decimate everyone in greens and blues, where's the incentive to raid for purples?"
Trust me bro, there are some people who eat, drink sleep and breathe purples and shudder at the thought of greens and blues, even if it somehow wasn't going to make much of a difference.
Rafe Aug 25th 2008 4:35PM
Yes, people will care, especially if DKs knock them around in the arena really badly.
Dominika Aug 25th 2008 9:13PM
Besides the fact that it's a beta and things are likely to change, your experiences are now taking place at outdated content, being that you're level 65. It's never been Blizzards habit to balance or design classes around any level except the endgame. PvP is completely balanced around level 80 - that's why you don't see many caster twinks in the lower brackets. As for PvE, that tends to be balanced around the endgame as well.
Death knights are already getting some nerfs to their most notable tree, Blood, and its self-healing abilities, so it's not as though Blizzard is unaware of what's happening. The game isn't out for a long time, and saying things like "This class will be OP at release!" is just silly.
Celton Aug 25th 2008 4:35PM
No one will care because everyone will have a death knight.
MisterMoose Aug 25th 2008 4:35PM
They haven't done a pass on damage yet, so it is no surprise that DK damage is crazy. They have stated their damage is too high (like Ret Pallies).
Tridus Aug 25th 2008 4:36PM
Yes, people will care. Anybody who wants to play something that isn't a Death Knight will care. PvPers in particular, but also PvErs who get told to reroll because the top guilds want to bring more of the OP class along on progression raids.
Course as a healer, its good for me. 5 million DKs trying to find a group means its really easy for healers.