What 3.1 means for PvP part III
by Zach Yonzon 
Feb 6th 2009 at 1:30PM
Considering that the most dominant Rogue spec for PvP is the Mutilate / Prep 41/ 5/ 25, it's somewhat odd that Ghostcrawler mentions the change to Hunger for Blood as a means to tone down burst damage in PvP. Although it's a definite damage boost in PvE, it's a nerf for PvP because now Rogues have no way of clearing a bleed effect, which is physical. If only select Rogues were speccing HfB for PvP then, there'll be even less of them post-Patch 3.1.
The rest of the changes, mostly to Combat, have more of a PvE application as virtually all Combat builds are oriented for PvE DPS. That said, the buff to Killing Spree is a pretty good one, and it should be scary enough to face a Combat Rogue if you're the only one around. With the inclusion of haste to several Combat talents, I expect Blizzard to make some changes to the mechanic, as it's currently lackluster for physical DPS classes. They've said as much, so the haste-imbued Combat will get more of a buff when the improvements are worked in. Unlike most of the other classes, Blizzard doesn't seem too concerned about making all three Rogue trees equally popular or viable for PvP.
Shaman
The adjustment to Chain Lightning is a clear nerf for PvP simply because it deals less burst to a single target. Never mind that the default Shaman sequence is Flame Shock + Lava Burst, Chain Lightning is the filler within Lava Burst's 8 second cooldown. Will Shamans now turn to the slower cast Lightning Bolt? We'll have to see how much of a nerf Chain Lightning will get. The other Shaman changes are clearly PvE oriented, but one change that helps a lot in PvP will be the combination of Disease Cleansing and Poison Cleansing Totems. This is good because Shamans now no longer have to choose between defusing a Death Knight or a Rogue / Hunter.
As with Rogues, there isn't much about the Shaman changes that apply directly to PvP. On the other hand, Eyonix explicitly states that they are looking into giving Enhancement and Elemental more PvP utility. I'm looking forward to seeing what Blizzard plans for this because Restoration is far and away the most popular spec in PvP, particularly in Arenas. They've got their work cut out for them.
On a good note, Warlocks are no longer the least represented class in the high rated Arenas. They've edged out Druids just barely. The bad news is, Warlocks still really suck. You know it, I know it, and Blizzard knows it. This is why Patch 3.1 will be a major patch for Warlocks. The changes they've announced so far are just the tip of the iceberg. Not much PvP-oriented changes, but the revision to Siphon Life as a buff to Corruption instead of being a separate cast spell (it's still an additional debuff, if I'm not mistaken) works extremely well for PvP. Theoretically, Haunt will refresh both debuffs.
Curse of Recklessness and Curse of Weakness have been combined -- which likely means it will reduce the target's Attack Power and reduce armor by a percentage. This will make it a powerful debuff in Arena play. Again, this is just a mere sampling of what's forthcoming for Warlocks, as Blizzard has teased that new talents have been added. Maybe we'll see more Destruction builds for PvP.
Warrior
Stance dance for PvP? Yes, please. A Warrior has always been susceptible targets in PvP, particularly when in Berserker Stance. Lowered costs for changing stances should expand their reactive options considerably. While it's a tanking tool, the synergy of Rage and Power Word: Shield is awesome, and should no longer penalize Warriors who are under the protection of their (Discipline) Priest.
Other changes are simple DPS buffs, but one notable change is the rework of Sunder Armor to be more in line with all the other armor reduction mechanics. It will no longer be as devastating to cloth classes, who will no longer necessarily be instagibbed by cleave teams. It scales much better the higher an opponent's armor, though, so it's not a direct nerf. Similar to what Blizzard did for Protection Paladins, we'll probably see some PvP-oriented buffs for Protection Warriors along the way.
Patch 3.1 brings us Ulduar, dual specs, significant changes to all the classes, and more! We've got you covered from top to bottom with our Guide to Patch 3.1.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jows Feb 6th 2009 1:41PM
If you think the warrior changes are positive for PVP you haven't really thought it through. What this change actually does is makes every ability outside of zerker stance cost 20 more rage (10 to switch + 10 to switch back). This is not a buff by any stretch of the imagination.
Kuwadora Feb 6th 2009 2:30PM
As opposed to every ability outside of zerker stance costing all but 10 rage? Yes, this is a buff
Holgar Feb 6th 2009 2:47PM
You best get yer head looked at laddie I think ye might o got hit onnit with a big hammer!
Morning Feb 6th 2009 2:32PM
While the stance issue is something warriors have wanted changed for a long time, the way blizzard is implementing it knocks a lot of the benefit off of it. The change would be excellent in pve, but in pvp there are many times a warrior is stance changing with low rage to get a disarm, intercept, intervene, etc... The change makes it so you cannot do any of these things in a low rage situation. They must leave the baseline 10 rage (without talents) on a stance dance for any benefit to come of the change. Otherwise I would rather have it as it is now for pvp.
Teeko Feb 6th 2009 2:48PM
Apparently jows is the one who has really not thought it through. It is a significant buff.
Dreadskull Feb 6th 2009 3:04PM
Some classes will be overpowered, some underpowered, some in the middle.
Arenas will still be catered to the 5% of the playerbase that actually enjoys it and thinks they're hardcore PvPers. And obviously arenas will still be the focus of PvP in terms of gear.
In other words: the only difference will be which classes are "flavor of the month" and which classes aren't.
Lemons Feb 6th 2009 3:12PM
Yeah, none of the rogue changes were pvp oriented in the least. No mut rogue ever goes all the way to to HfB for pvp because simply they'd have to give up prep to do it, personally I say move prep further down the sub tree because mut rogues do not need 2 vanishes.
I also like how GC said in the past that they were going to work on deep sub, but there's no mention of changing sub in any way in 3.1.
Elogahmas Feb 6th 2009 6:12PM
OMG_ what do we need to do to get some real upgrades for the Spriests out there????
Remove snares on Dispersion and improved shadow form to reduce damage on spells.... big freaking woop! The few remaining Spriests out there are suffering in pvp, Owned by every Melle class, DOTS are easily removed, and the our DPS isnt that great to begin with in pvp.
I'm calling for not just some improvements in DPS and survivability, BUT A FULL SCALE "OP" UPGRADE!!! ITS OUR TURN TO SHINE. (not sorry about caps)
Thanks,
~ELO
Philip Feb 6th 2009 7:23PM
Yea it's pretty sad that the tree ORIGINALLY built around PvP has almost no usefulness now if you go 51 points into it.
And don't tell me dagger/shadowstep spec. Tried it in a last resort to not go Mut. Mutilate is too OP at the moment to not spec it.
Dominika Feb 6th 2009 5:34PM
Also of note for warlocks is the suggestion that Drain Soul may not require the mob to die to proc a soul shard. Without knowing exactly how it's going to work we can't say if it's good or bad, but if it offers the potential for warlocks to get shards in the middle of a match it'll make the heavy-damage abilities they have with a shard cost more appealing.
joey_da_bubbles Feb 6th 2009 11:14PM
@Dominika
If warlocks were able to drain a shard without having to kill the mob, it would make spells that require shards more available and desirable to use, but it would also make the class OP. If you could whenever you wanted to, just drain a shard from a random mob, then use that shard to blow off a rediculious OP spell (that youve probably got from QQing so much) to finish the mob, that would make the warlock grind so much easier, and like it isnt really easy already? it would make warlocks more desirable for groups, but really? are you kidding? thats just my 2 cents on the topic of warlocks getting the drain buff.
If warlocks can drain shards without killing, then mages should be able to tele without runes.
Matt Feb 7th 2009 1:32AM
Anyone who thinks the rage when switching stances change is a buff does not understand warriors in pvp, specifically arms warriors.
"Lowered costs for changing stances should expand their reactive options considerably. "
This is not what the change does at all.
With tac mastery, we will need 10 more rage than our ability requires to use any ability outside of our current stance. If we switch to 'zerker to intercept with 10 rage, we will still have 10 rage when we switch stances and can intercept. With the change, if we switch to zerker to intercept with 10 rage, we will have 0 rage after the switch and will not be able to intercept. This is an overwhelming nerf to warriors in pvp who spend most of their time with less than 30 rage.
zoshk Feb 7th 2009 10:32PM
@joey_da_bubbles
getting a shard while draining w/o killing would not make grinding faster at all
in the time it takes to cast soulfire, which has been in game from the start before the qq, i could have tagged 2 mobs and be moving on to the third. in effect, using shards while grinding will only slow me down.
personally, this change is only useful for raids in certain situations
and remove some peoples qualms about using those abilities in pvp
and i see no reason why mages shouldn't be allowed to port w/o runes...hasn't blizz been removing reagents left and right?