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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsSharpening Stones, Mana Oils gone in Wrath
by Eliah Hecht 
Oct 31st 2008 at 9:00AM
It didn't really hit me until I saw this post about it, but there are no sharpening stones, weightstones, or mana or wizard oils in Wrath of the Lich King. Verimonde, a blue name that's unfamiliar to me, confirms that this is by design, saying "While they were something nice to use once in a while for most people for many raid guilds they were simply another burden to the cost of raiding." This is essentially my reaction to the change, although some other Insiders are of the opinion that it's another step in the oversimplification of WoW. I'm happy that typical raid consumables will be down to flasks and food.There's another problem with this plan, though. Unless they remove the current stones and oils, progression-oriented raiders are going to be running back to Outland and farming up the mats for old stones and oils all the time. This is nothing new really; dedicated raiders have been going to great lengths for buffs since the days of mind-controlling fire resistance off UBRS mobs to go to MC and BWL. Still, I don't think it's what Blizz had in mind in removing them, so my bet is that old stones/oils will either be removed, or prevented from working on players over level 70 (like the Riding Crop).
Update: Looks like they went the latter route. Stones/oils will not work on post-70 items.
Filed under: Raiding, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 5 of 6)
VSUReaper Oct 31st 2008 10:41AM
Ty Blizz for dumbing this game down to the ground. Stones were one of the FEW ways that I was able to contribute to my guilds raiding with my profession and being the only tank that took the time to grab 20-30 stones for a PUG made me the better tank, even if I was lesser geared than the others.
Same thing w/ the oils for my priest. I have a massive surplus of oil supplies and I always had oils to apply to my weapons (both mana and wizard) to make me a better player. Now that they are gone, what is to distinguish the better raiders from the lazy ones???
Not a damn thing. RetpallyJil hit it right on the head:
Oooh! Shiny buttons! What does this do? Why am I a bad payer?
/cast dumbed down game
Yay! Even I'm good at this game now!!
torgun Oct 31st 2008 12:32PM
Bad players will still do terrible dps, break CC, stand in fire/ice/shadow/kittens, not be a team player, have poor reaction time, freak out when boss gimmicks occur, etc.
Don't worry, there are still plenty of ways for players to suck.
Danel Oct 31st 2008 3:29PM
I agree with torgun... I can't help but wonder just how good those players are if they think that the main difference between a good and a bad player is knowing what OILS to use. That's less about skill and more about knowing the right hoops to jump through.
Mo Oct 31st 2008 10:59AM
Go ahead and keep it a "burden"...a little pre-work is a good thing, sometimes...and for those who don't feel like going out and gathering x,y,or z, they can buy the stuff on the AH and make someone who DID that work some cash...
I'll put out the OVER/UNDER on this one: in TWO expansions (if there's still WoW at all), we'll have DMG POWER (or something like it)...everyone will have this blended score, everyone will have ATTACK 1, ATTACK 2, and JUMP buttons...after patch 6.0.3, the game will be played on an old Atari2600 joystick. I'm gonna miss being able to jump...
Knyle Oct 31st 2008 11:04AM
Buffs like the badlands food should always be in the game for when you want that little edge over your gear alone.
However as a shaman I am glad I will never need another wizard or mana oil again , bc of earthliving wf and flame tongue.
However i dont think that that means all should be removed, If I am getting a weapon buff, and rogues are keeping poison then there needs to be something for everyone.
Andrew Martin Oct 31st 2008 11:16AM
Honestly I wonder about some of you guys. Games are supposed to be about having fun and farming shit is boring.
I do it now I farm for food, farm for flasks, farm for oils but it isn't fun. I've been raiding since molten core first on a priest in old world, then I rolled a rogue in TBC (still bring the priest to some stuff), and everyone was saying 10 and 25 man raids as opposed to 20 and 40, meant the sky is falling and they were dumbing it down and the raid experience got way better.
It's like getting rid of the need for dozens of potions, getting rid of extraneous buffs, getting rid of the need for really speciffic group composition that'll make the game a lot more fun.
crsh Oct 31st 2008 11:40AM
Oils/stones are cheap, cheaper than most elixirs and certainly cheaper than flasks; on progression nights, where you know you'll be wiping a lot, oils/stones were perfect. They last through death, it gives a good-enough boost where you wouldn't want to be wasting gold on a flask, etc.
It's like when your company has to make cuts for financial reasons and lays off the receptionist instead of cutting the fat; not only are you not saving much money (generally one of the lowest salaries), but you're getting rid of a position that's useful for everybody.
Andrew Martin Oct 31st 2008 11:55AM
But those little bits do add up. If i spend 10 gold per raid on something that's about 50 gold per week, that's like 2500 gold per year.
Also I'm sure at some point they'll introduce something like Marks of the illidari or something which will effectively cover the cost of your flasks. I haven't bought a flask on my rogue in months.
Maybe getting rid of them was killing a fly with a sledgehammer but at very least they could have made them purchasable by some kind of drop or gold. Some way to make it not about farming gold.
akw Oct 31st 2008 11:56AM
I tend to agree. Now if they'd just get rid of item durability we'd be all set...
Stoney Oct 31st 2008 11:20AM
Terrible idea.
What's wrong with having options? Less does not equal more.
What's next? Removing armor kits? How about all enchants?
I really hope they change their mind on this one.
AlexW573 Oct 31st 2008 11:39AM
As nice as the small amount of extra damage is, I like this change. I always hated noticing I was out and shelling out ~30g on a couple more.
Uknowwho Nov 1st 2008 1:59AM
This kind of sucks I always thought it was part of the experience part of showing how committed you were to achieve your goals
Erbodie Oct 31st 2008 12:11PM
Yet another step towards the oversimplification of this game. I am really concerned that we are going to end up with 25-man content that any average guild will be able to one-shot, and we'll all get bored to our skull just a few months into Wrath.
Jurgi Oct 31st 2008 12:05PM
Good thing I just farmed up 150 consecrated sharpening stones.
Hey, maybe if we bitch enough, they'll rethink their decision. Like honor points being removed.
fuzzbox Oct 31st 2008 12:18PM
stupid, stupid, stupid.
If you want to reduce raiding costs, make the elixirs and buffs last through death, not take away the ones that do!
I went through a ton of fortitude and spell damage elixirs, as well as food last night when our guild was trying to down Illidan. Probably ~50g worth or more. Yet I only used 3 wizard oil charges. Which is the more cost efficient one???
Shadowisp Oct 31st 2008 12:13PM
What about Enchanters and Blacksmiths ?
Those were the only consumables they could produce to burn excess mats more easily. Whats to be placed to compensate them.
And if warlocks, rogues, shamans get the advantage of temporary enchants.... what do the other classes get. It was fair to expect the class versions are scaled against oils and stones. Will they get nerfed.
Its not like oils were an expensive raid item, in fact it was a lot cheaper than food and flasks.
stabbington Oct 31st 2008 12:15PM
On the one hand, farming a bunch of consumables to raid always kind of sucked and I'm glad they're simplifying things. On the other hand, oils are incredibly easy to make, last through death like flasks, last an hour, and have five charges.
Food is more of a pain in the ass than oils are. I'd rather that they leave both in and just make the buffs not stack with food so you can use one or the other.
Amaxe Oct 31st 2008 12:18PM
Oils and sharpening stones never made a difference to me... they conflicted with my Windfury imbue
Joaquin Oct 31st 2008 12:21PM
Sigh. I know that most people don't like change but honestly, I didn't see this as a major cost. I wish Blizz would relax and quit oversimplifiying the game. I know they want to make the end game more accessible but little things like this that get taken away really sting. :( It feels insulting.
Rich Oct 31st 2008 12:47PM
QQ more...
I got my spellstones, so I don't need your stinkin' oils...