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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsStealth detection items nerfed
by Eliah Hecht 
May 14th 2009 at 7:00PM
I tried to make a "stealth nerf" pun in the headline, but it just wasn't coming to me. Anyway, Blizzard has decided that items that grant stealth detection were feeling too mandatory in arenas, "forc[ing] players to use lower level equipment even when more powerful items were available to them." Therefore, they've nerfed the lot of them.
- Ultra-Spectropic Detection Goggles can no longer be used in arenas.
- Epic engineering goggles will no longer grant stealth detection.
- Stealth detection on many other items (Catseye Ultra Goggles, Blood Guard's Dragonhide Gauntlets, Marshal's Dragonhide Gauntlets, Knight-Lieutenant's Dragonhide Gloves, General's Dragonhide Gloves, Bloodvine Lens, Knight-Lieutenant's Dragonhide Grips, Blood Guard's Dragonhide Grips, The Night Watchman) has been reduced.
This hotfix is already live; tooltips are not updated, yet, but will be in the next patch (patch 3.1.2).
What's your reaction to this? Obviously it's bad when people feel compelled to wear low-level items because they're overpowered (witness the Badge of Tenacity for Druid tanks), but is this going to lead to rogues becoming even more overpowered than (I hear) they already are?
Filed under: Engineering, Items, News items, PvP, Arena
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 6)
peagle May 15th 2009 9:57AM
Shouldn't have had a title for the article at all.
Zard May 14th 2009 7:09PM
Were people really using lower level helms for the stealth detection?
Tim May 14th 2009 8:12PM
Why not? Bliz made a fairly big deal about the fact that the itemization in WotLK shouldn't give you one clear item better than all the rest. They said repeatedly that they wanted people to have to choose their situational items based on more than one or two stats.
Remembering that, this decision makes zero sense. The only thing that was happening here was that players were buying into Bliz's philosophy and choosing lesser items for the buff instead of just becoming ingame avatars of the player's spreadsheet.
Quickshiv May 14th 2009 9:22PM
If you head over to arenajunkies and look at all of the top rogues they were all engineers using the goggles. This is really only a nerf to rogues by rogues for rogues.
Worcester May 14th 2009 9:42PM
Quickshiv,
This is still something you should be concerned about. In WSG, I often guard the flag in stealth. Many times, I would catch stealth classes trying to grab the flag. This nerf will definitely hinder defenses in any BG.
It's sort of like how many Submarine captains would pit their ships against other Subs. Rogues often seek each other out.
Now... probably not so much. I'm more likely to go after other classes now that I know they probably can't see me at all.
Dreyja May 14th 2009 7:09PM
See... for those of us who don't do arenas but are on a pvp server... this SUCKETH BIG-TIME.
In the world and one-on-one, yes they are op and you can totally disagree with this but I know quite a few people who play rogues who think so as well. It is even worse for squishies.
hpavc May 14th 2009 8:25PM
Good point, knee jerk esports wins again.
mibluvr13 May 14th 2009 9:24PM
I've played on a PVP server (and an active one at that, where a gank is always right around the corner) and I've never heard of anyone using these helms.
Incidentally, while I don't arena, I listen to my guildmates talk about arena constantly and I've never heard of anyone using these helms for that either.
Meh.
Lemons May 14th 2009 11:18PM
I have been waiting for this for a long....LONG...time.
Please do not say this is nerf to Engineering as whole. This shit changes nothing for 95% of the WoW populaion. Here's a checklist:
1. Do you enjoy the pvp? If yes forward if no then shut up.
2. Do you play arena? If yes forward if no then shut up.
3. Do you play a stealth class in arena? If yes forward if no then shut up.
4. Are you one of the last remaining stealthers on earth who did not roll Engineering for those fcking goggles!?
If you did not make it to 4 then please do not even speak. I don't want to hear "BAAAAW, THE NERFED ENGINEERING!", because this nerf is not FOR you. It's for me and all the other stealthers who've ever lost a game simply because the other team's Rogue decided he'd be a leet haxxor and rolled Eengineering specifically for those goggles.
GG Engineering Rogues, at least you still got your nitro boots.
Icthallus May 14th 2009 7:09PM
Ze Goggles! Ze Do Nuffink!
Avan May 14th 2009 7:10PM
Also read as:
"We nerfed engineering... again."
Matazuma May 14th 2009 7:57PM
Engy is very overpowered in arenas. Most Highend Arena player have Engy as there profession. This was a needed nerf
tulipblossom May 14th 2009 8:09PM
@ Matazuma -
"Engy is very overpowered in arenas. Most Highend Arena player have Engy as there profession. This was a needed nerf."
This is the exact problem. Not everyone plays freaking arena. I am so tired of arena ruining all other aspects of pvp in this game. If the problem was really something only seen in arena, then wtf, why can't they just make this change for arena?
I hate arena more and more, every damn day.
Philip May 14th 2009 7:11PM
How does this make rogues OP? It sounds like it gives rogues the exact level of "stealth" they trained as they leveled up. Imagine goggles that reduce healing or prevented you from having your level 80 abilities, making them essentially level 70 or so? Its the same thing. And besides, when you *have* to level a certain profession to be viable in arenas, is that not a problem?
Angus May 14th 2009 7:20PM
Except EVERY freaking useful item in engineering has been eating the nerf bat..
Let's ignore the fact that engineering is now the WORST profession for anything besides PVP. Let's ignore the raid that screams engineering has alchemy caches and a ton of new patterns for every profession EXCEPT engineering. Let's ignore the fact that Engineering's niche used to be trinkets, but those were taken by JCs who also got better gems.
Wait, let's NOT ignore all that. The profession has been pigeonholed by Blizzard into a PVP profession. And they keep nerfing that aspect. Seriously, it needs to stop. About my only defense against rogues in WG was being able to see them. Not like those goggles are anywhere near as good for DPS or tanking as the blacksmith BoEs.
They keep listening to people complain about a profession they refuse to help and nerf it if it becomes useful in the one aspect they are "fine" with.
This poor damn profession is about as useful as a pair of reading glasses on a blind guy. Fitting analogy since now I have no reason to keep the goggles for dps and I'm just going to go get a blacksmith to crank out the much better helm.
Philip May 14th 2009 7:25PM
I feel your pain Angus, and I'm not saying that what they are doing to engineering is right. I have engineering on my druid (which I don't pvp on) so I know where you're coming from.
ooze May 14th 2009 7:31PM
There are already abilities out their that decrease skills gained at level 80.
For example resilience decreasing the amount of damage a DoT does from my level 80 spell. Armor penetration decreasing armor rating.
This looks like another case of Blizzard's rogue love affair. When rogue/priest combinations are too over powered in 2v2, they nerf the priest and leave the rogue alone.
Philip May 14th 2009 8:09PM
Ooze, your example is good except that the specific functions you mention involve all classes. Goggles that increase stealth detection affect 2: Rogues AND druids, whom I'm assuming are going to be "OP" as rogues are.
Oriflame May 14th 2009 9:10PM
Philip - either rogue stealth was OP and making people feel "obligated" to use the goggles, or the goggles were op, and people felt obligated to use them to just destroy rogues... but I think it was the people felt this was the only way to defend against rogue stealth - but instead of say, nerfing stealth, blizzard nerfed the only defense we'd come up with against it.
Does that make sense?
I'm not saying rogues are OP in areans, just that if something needed nerfed here, they picked on engineering who has become a real whipping boy of late and left rogues unscathed despite having the option of going for either one.
Engineer's best items (rocket boots, lightening generator) have already been cut down to 1/3 their original effect to support this same worry from bliz around obligation to use certain items, and we've gotten essentially nothing to make up for it.
Outside of arenas, I would argue rogues are wildly OP in PVP, but that is a discussion for a different thread - it does factor in here though when you want to know why people's immediate response is "omg rogues are OP". It might be because they are hell to kill/fight when they aren't locked in a box with you.
crash May 14th 2009 7:14PM
I don't understand the logic. If people want to use crappier gear for a specific bonus, let them. Seems like a perfectly normal cost/benefit choice to be honest.