The Queue: More like zero class, am I right?

Just because I want to play as a monk in Diablo 3 doesn't mean that it'd make a compelling class choice in WoW! Check question #2 for hero class talk. Honestly, any excuse to talk about the monk is a good excuse. When is Diablo 3 coming out again?
Dragonrose asked:
Here's a newbie question: What the heck is the global cooldown for?
Essentially, the global cooldown exists to prevent spamming of abilities. Think of all the instant spells you have at your disposal. Now imagine that there's no limit to the number of times you can hit them in a second's time. You could macro as many Ice Lances as you could cast with a full mana bar and unload on the nearest whatever.
Now, of course that'd make for some decidedly unfun PvP, but think about it in terms of server resources for a moment. The server has to keep track of all of the requests you're making of it, from "use this item" to "cast this spell." If there were no hard limit to how many of those requests you could make at a time, the servers would be under dire stress 100% of the time. It'd be like old times in Lagforge or Lagrimmar ... or the AQ gate event!
The GCD also helps with game balance. "I can do X damage in one GCD" is a phrase we hear quite a bit, and it helps the developers when they can say, "We expect an elemental shaman to be able to do this many thousand damage in a single GCD" instead of, say, drinking themselves into an early grave.
Ilikethings asked:
Does Blizz have any ambitions for implementing more hero classes in the future? It almost seems as though they wanted to add them in quite a bit, but then with all the balance issues DK's had in the beginning, it's almost like they've been put on the back-burner as more trouble than they're worth. Anyone here have any idea? Thanks!
I'm sure the developers would like to implement new classes, "hero" or otherwise, but at this point it's less a matter of what would be cool and more a matter of what the game needs. What roles need to be filled or filled better than they are currently? What armor class would a new class use? Who would that affect? Why do we need another class when we have 10 of them already? Those are all-important questions that would need to be answered before Blizzard could even think about adding a new class.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a new class to try out, but not if it functions nearly identically to another class and certainly not if it only exists for the sake of a bullet point on a feature list in a press release. We'll just have to see when the next expansion is announced and we see what the user retention feature like new races or a new class will be.
Matthew asked:
So we're seeing the Zul's in 4.1 redone. Any idea why not they are not redoing Ahn Qiraj as 5 mans; for those of us who never did Vanilla, they're just legacies for mount farming on LFG.
I'm of the mind that we'll see the AQs redone as heroics, just like ZG and ZA. Given the makeover (or lack thereof) Silithus received, I would be very unsurprised to see the zone given an actual pass to make it bearable and to reintroduce our favorite bugs. We'll know when we get news about 4.3, I guess!
Filed under: The Queue






Reader Comments (Page 1 of 10)
Kakume Mar 20th 2011 12:05PM
Q for the Q:
Any idea how much 25 man raiding is going on these days?
Our 25 man raid group managed to make it into Cataclysm mostly intact, and we started downing bosses. To our surprise, though, when we went to recruit, interest seemed to have completely dried up hordeside on our server. I hear that a lot of people faction changed, and I assume most others have gone into 10 man in preference. So, unable to recruit to fill the gaps that inevitably apear, our group broke up.
I'm curious to know if this is specific to our faction and server, or if it's happening elsewhere?
Neirin Mar 20th 2011 12:42PM
My guild was a 25 man guild during Wrath and transitioned to 10s at the beginning of Cata to try and push progression asap. We eventually realized we preffered the 25 man environment (if for no other reason than having 15 more people to joke with) and are now chugging along nicely as a 25 man group.
Most fights are actually a lot easier in 25 man than 10. Al'Akir is probably the only exception, maybe Nef, but that just might be having fewer people familiar with it. Heroic Halfus was so much easier on 25 than on 10 those of us that had done it before felt like we were cheesing it.
Rapskallion Mar 20th 2011 12:44PM
From my experience (raid leading a 25 man team from WotLK into Cata) you're not alone. We also made it through to Cata raiding intact and got 10/12 pretty quickly. We've slowly lost people to real life or burnout and can not seem to beg, borrow, or steal a recruit. Everyone wants to run tens and not deal with the issues that come with full twentyfive man raiding teams.
Skarn Mar 20th 2011 3:27PM
About a month ago, a friend of mine changed from her 10-man guild to a 25 and she's loving it. At least part of that is because it's easier, she says. That could be for a lot of reasons. The 25s just might plain be easier. (Some heroic bosses definitely are.) Or the players in the new guild could also be just better than her old 10s.
On the other hand, I'm running 10s and loving it. I dropped out of 25s during Icecrown and haven't looked back. I don't miss the loot drama, which tended to pop up no matter how good the loot system was. I don't miss trying to find enough good players or manage all of 'em. Some people really like that and that is awesome, but it's not for me. I like the smaller group. We get along well and each person feels important. Each person can speak up and offer suggestions without ending up in a crowd of noise from 24 other people. I like it. It works for me. Bosses are hard, sure, but that's fine. We're making very steady progress and having a blast.
Oteo Mar 20th 2011 12:05PM
Looking at the Monk art and comparing it to Thrall, I thought "Wow, Blizzard sure has a thing for giant balls...
...I mean beads."
Shrike Mar 20th 2011 1:15PM
They're oversized prayer beads, which is why the "spiritual" characters (monk in D3, Thrall in his shaman gear) have them.
http://tibetan398.com/syssite/home/shop/1/pictures/productsimg/big/2604.jpg
Other examples include a couple Samurai Shodown characters (Wan-fu and Kafuin Gaira).
Xaklo Mar 20th 2011 1:57PM
"Thrall's Balls!!"
Pantyraider Mar 20th 2011 1:58PM
Prayer beads, huh...
negativegirl Mar 20th 2011 3:45PM
^ ^ ^
DeathByPain Mar 20th 2011 6:38PM
Thralls's balls are upon you!
Err wait...
Hellscream's eyes! His EYES are upon you!
MMOFan1 Mar 20th 2011 12:08PM
I'd like to see a remade outlands in the next expansion with a Demon Hunter as a new starting hero class that would start at level 65 in the newly revamped outlands. Bring back Illidian into the story as some sort of leader figure that has been training a legion of demon hunters in the Outlands. I'm not quite sure what abilities or armor types to give but it could be something akin to a battle mage type person that could possibly tame demons as pets to use.
Bapo Mar 20th 2011 12:23PM
Hopefully it'd wear either leather or mail. If they could tame demons, id just go make a lock instead.
BT WAS JUST A SET BACK!
I think the revamp for bc content will circulate more around the burning legion, rather than anything else.
Amaxe Mar 20th 2011 12:31PM
For what its worth, WoW RPG DemonHunter abilities:
Table 3–3: The Demon Hunter (Dmh)
Base
Class Attack Fort Ref Will
Level Bonus Save Save Save Special
1st +1 +0 +2 +2 Demonic aura, enlightenment, evasion, warblade
2nd +2 +0 +3 +3 Demon bane (+1d6), artful dodge +1, mana burn 1/day
3rd +3 +1 +3 +3 Demon drain, immolation 1/day
4th +4 +1 +4 +4 Demon bane (+2d6), dodge +2, enlightenment (45 ft.)
5th +5 +1 +4 +4 Improved warblade, mana burn 2/day
6th +6 +2 +5 +5 Demon bane (+3d6), dodge +3, immolation 2/day, improved evasion
7th +7 +2 +5 +5 Dark metamorphosis 1/day
8th +8 +2 +6 +6 Demon bane (+4d6), dodge +4, enlightenment (60 ft.), mana burn 3/day
9th +9 +3 +6 +6 Immolation 3/day
10th +10 +3 +7 +7 Demon bane (+5d6), demonic ascendance, dodge +5, greater warblade
I'm guessing from this one could have certain powers on cooldown with a bonus against demons.
jishdefish Mar 20th 2011 12:43PM
I'm hoping for a Dragonsworn hero class myself. It would have a bronze dps tree, a green healing tree and a red healing tree.
Bronze could undoubtedly have a lot of utility tools based around slowing incoming damage, a time-stop CC... It would just be so fun to play around with time tricks that the Dragons taught you... So long as you don't change anything. ;)
A red healer would be all about cauterizing heals... Heals that when they land give a damage reduction buff. I could also see them having some offensive capability as well, fire spells with splash heals as a side effect (though this would be a side thing to do when no one needs heals, not matching damage done with a dps).
A green healer would be all about using poisons on the enemy to regen a resource (kinda like how the Moonkin has a secondary resource) which they can use to heal with a little more uumph or pizazz.
Not that I have anything against Demon Hunters... as long as they differentiate them from Hunters, Rogues, and Warlocks...
Neirin Mar 20th 2011 12:56PM
The Illidan stuff would have to be in flashback like the DK starting zone. He's dead, we spent an entire expansion working on being prepared to kill him. Kael being a running joke is one thing, but making an entire expansion into a joke is considerably less funny.
On the subject of BC characters: I want to see Maiev show up again, especially now that we've found her brother Jarod. I'm thinking Maiev should be a raid boss where Jarod somehow helps you stop her from trying to assassinate Tyrande. Either that or Maiev supplants Tyrande and becomes the new NE leader. Sorta opposite ends of the spectrum there I suppose.
jordan Mar 20th 2011 1:01PM
Problem is that combat rogues and demo warlocks already exist and are based upon demon hunters. What purpose would they serve in game? Why would this game need more melee and what would their trees be? The problem with demon hunters is that they would only fill already overcrowded roles. As it stands they would only be bullet points on a feature list, doing the same things in the same way.
Rolanthas Mar 20th 2011 1:15PM
well, tattoos instead of body armor, kilts as legs, f..ing dual glaives as weapons.
oh, and blinds as helms. gief.
Robert Mar 20th 2011 1:48PM
Isn't the hidden quest in Darkshore plus related achievement ("Ghosts in the Dark") virtual proof that Blizzard is going to make Demon Hunters the next hero class?
Henrah Mar 20th 2011 1:52PM
You are not prepared....
....for a new hero class.
Mike C Mar 20th 2011 1:58PM
WoW needs an interactive healer. The type of class seen in Vanguard (I know, fail game, whatever, classes were amazing). For instance, this healer can link himself with someone and damage done heals the linked person.
Oh crap... I forgot, Damage Meters kill Support/Hybrid classes, never mind, carry on.