Breakfast Topic: Blizzard's patch 3.1 goals
by Amanda Miller 
Mar 8th 2009 at 8:00AM
The blues have been very open lately about the direction that Blizz is taking and the goals that they're trying to achieve. Three, in particular, come to mind when considering patch 3.1 and its effect on tanks and healers in particular:- Bring the player, not the class.
- Healing should be more interactive and interesting.
- The tanks need to be on par in order to satisfy #1, in terms of performance and stats, yet they do not want to further homogenize the classes.
How are you feeling so far about the direction Blizzard is taking your main character? Even if it isn't perfect yet, are you excited about what you think your class will look like, or are you worried about your favorite spec/role?
Filed under: Patches, Analysis / Opinion, Breakfast Topics, Classes
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
WelfareHero Mar 8th 2009 8:12AM
I would love a DK Tanking AOE Taunt. Death and Decay is a serious pain in the butt.... Seriously.
Kaphik Mar 8th 2009 11:01AM
Um, what? A 10 second AoE doing damage isn't enough for you?
Kakistocracy Mar 8th 2009 1:17PM
I've never had the slightest bit of trouble picking up multiple adds as a Death Knight between glyphed Pestilence (which is being changed, and not too positively), howling blast, and death and decay (even untalented), but I won't mind an aoe taunt that can be quickly used.
Hoggersbud Mar 8th 2009 2:08PM
D&D while useful as a preparatory ability, is less than ideal for reacting during the middle of a fight. It's a pain in the butt to place on the fly, as you have to mouse it where you want it and have the runes to cast it.
I rarely use it after a fight starts, it's just too much trouble.
VanessaHeartless Mar 8th 2009 4:39PM
Kaphik:
The main issue is that if someone pulls aggro and mobs run out of your D&D in seperate directions, it becomes VERY difficult to pick up. Not to mention, if you have runes on Cooldown, that throws another monkey wrench into the system.
Hoggersbud:
Not to mention in especially frantic fights, the possibility of accidentally throwing your D&D somewhere you dont want it.
Andrew Mar 8th 2009 8:23AM
Many of the changes to DK tanking seem oriented at bringing their supply of tanking cooldowns in line with the other, less cooldown-y tank classes., although I haven ' t seen much evidence that they ' ll be given additional ways to combat magic damage as effectively as those pesky death knights have.
Good Mar 8th 2009 8:14AM
Well, I play an Hunter.
The fact ES is getting nerfed with every PTR build more and more is quite disturbing to me.
"The trap for PvP and Black Arrow for PvE" stuff sounds fine but could become a problem.(Have no idea what my shot rotation will look like in 3.1)
fbfb12 Mar 8th 2009 8:15AM
I thought I will like the idea when it was announced, but now I don't think it's that great. Maybe we should bring the class, but also have many different encounters for every class to be needed once in a while?
Tryst Mar 8th 2009 9:30AM
Yeah, you can't improve if you can't get in the raid. Class requirements at least forced a little diversity from the 25 people that always get invited.
Daniel Mar 8th 2009 2:03PM
I think that bring the player not the class has been the worst mantra Blizzard has ever had. I understand what they are doing; I simply think it's the wrong vision for the game. It makes the game far less fun and a lot less interesting to play. I find myself in the position where I am told by the assembled masses that I should like the changes, I keep wanting to like the changes, I even tell myself that should like the changes, but the reality is that I don't actually like the game anymore. And it is solely because of the many changes advanced since 3.02. There is an old saying that if it isn't broke, don't fix it. And Blizzard is ruining the game under the guise of fixing it, IMHO.
Eberron Mar 8th 2009 8:37PM
@Daniel
As a feral druid who just finished main tanking 25 man Naxx for my first 25 KT kill on that toon, I wish there was a need to be more well spoken then this but.. here goes: F**k that.
Tanking in BC didn't fall under "There is an old saying that if it isn't broke, don't fix it." because it didn't work fairly in the first place.
If you were a warrior in a raid, it was hunky dorey. If you were a Pally in a 5 man, fantastic. If you were a feral druid in a raid with lots of sometimes-1/sometimes-2 tanking arrangements, great.
If you were, say, a feral druid trying to tank a raid that was still challenging for your group? Crushing Blow RNGed to the ground, baby.
Admittedly DPS has it harder now, but hey. Now at least that Shaman who busts his ass isn't going to be benched (or asked to reroll) because someone knows a Rogue.
Zivilyn Mar 8th 2009 8:19AM
I play a bear druid, with every best-in-slot gear except for boots (2nd best). The changes are very painful. I'm dropping about 3k hp, and about 4k armor. Across the board, to other equally geared characters, I now have marginally more HP, less armor, less avoidance, and the worst cooldowns of all the classes. It's going to be interesting to see if Savage Defense balances this out, or if I'm going to be osolete for Ulduar progression.
frodo34x Mar 9th 2009 9:21AM
I'd argue that the cooldowns that bears get are better than the one cooldown paladins get (Divine Protection).
LXj Mar 9th 2009 3:43AM
Well I don't think their goal is to gimp you below the ground
lichgnome Mar 8th 2009 8:33AM
where is blizz going with all these tanking nerfs i really dislike the way blizz is thinking about things ive opened up a post u can check out if u feel me brothers
http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=8246347535&sid=1
scilk Mar 8th 2009 8:34AM
I play a rogue, and I'm quite disappointed in what's happening to the class.
What with being a pure DPS with no magical origins blizzard seems incapable of giving us anything cool or flavourful other than "better dps". Which is insulting as our dps is just as good as most other hybrids anyway, all of which can do other things too (and in the case of a druid, everything we can do and then some). We also don't seem to fit into the "BTPNTC" notion as we're the least "useful" class out there now, we offer no buffs, no crowd control (sap really doesn't count), no backup healing, no ranged damage, no off tanking, no food/drink/soulstones/healthstones... basically no utility function other than supplying extra dps.
I wouldn't mind so much, but rogues have become so vanilla of late, they've not given us any interesting new moves, they've removed poison brewing (yes its quicker and easier, but it might as well just be another generic potion these days), it just seems like they've run out of ideas for us, we might as well be renamed as "Generic DPS class" because from what I've experienced and seen so far, that's what we've become.
(and yes, I QQ)
-Scilk
Painful Mar 8th 2009 8:40AM
This.
Avan Mar 8th 2009 9:05AM
Rogues do fit in the BTPNTC idealogy, you just have to limit yourself to PvP. For PvE, it's BTCNTP for rogues. What can a rogue do that a feral druid can't? It seems like for rogues to be useful, they have to be alchemists. Who wouldn't bring the player that gives you flasks?
Of course, who would bring a rogue with alchemy when they can bring a feral druid with alchemy?
frt Mar 8th 2009 11:12AM
This is why I stopped playing my rogue at the start of Wrath, I had a feeling we would become more like dead-weight to the raid instead of the high-dps stabby stab i was used to.
I feel like I'm the only one who hates all the 'homogenization' that is going on. I would much rather everything be completely different and unique. So different where I feel I have to roll every class or I'm missing out on tons of gameplay. I'm so sick of BTPNTC and wish the slogan would change to 'work with what ya got'.
Well, i'll try to avoid a full-on depressed wow player rant and just say that the homogenization theme of this expansion has me pretty upset and seriously considering leaving this world......of warcraft.
Dreadheart Mar 8th 2009 11:08PM
I completely agree with this thread.
I've played WoW for just under three years now and I am sad to admit that it is currently the least interesting that it has ever been. I really think that homogenisation of the classes has severely hurt the game. To me the purpose of having so many separate classes and their associated talent trees is to have DIFFERENCES and OPTIONS to choose from. Each class should be specialised ina way that they, and no other class, can only be. Group make-up was an especially important part of raiding; frustrating at times yes, but that added to the challenge and the sense of accomplishment when a new boss was taken down. It also added to the value of each class, we all felt needed and important to the group. That's not so much the case anymore.
I'm relieved to see that some other people are seeing this too.
I also think that two other key elements need to be reviewed by blizzard. Namely: Raid Attunement and Battleground Rewards (because almost no one I know likes or plays Arena). Bringing attunement back and increasing the number and quality of BG rewards will add much more challenge and longevity to the game than there currently is. That would be far better for business than the whole BTPNTC thing that blizz has failed on.
I hope Blizz read this.