I'm ok with the cross realm lfg... even if I think virtually no one will use it. I'm ok with worgen and goblins and all of the new race/class combination's. I'm iffy on the reusing of dungeons and content but I think if it is done right... that I'll be ok with that.
For the most part the new changes in the expansion look pretty good and I can see working. At least if they are done right. There is one... tiny little thing... I don't get at all.
Itemization
(pulled from mmo-champion on the blizzcon panels)OMG I JUST GOT THE LEGENDARY DEFIAS CHEST PIECE OF THE BOAR!!!!!!!!!!!!
In World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, there are plans to streamline the statistics found on items. We want to remove all unnecessary stats, make all existing stats understandable, and make all "core" stats more appealing. Here are some examples of such plans.
- MP5: This will be removed from items and replaced with Spirit. All healers will be given a meditation-like ability.
- Spell Power: Spell Power is being removed from items as well. Don't panic, we'll be improving Intellect so that it provides mana and Spell Power.
- Attack Power: We're removing Attack Power from items as well. Instead, we're allowing Agility to provide the necessary Attack Power for leather and mail wearers. Strength will provide the appropriate amount of Attack Power for plate wearers. This means leather and mail items will no longer be desirable for plate wearers.
- Defense: The Defense statistic is also being removed from items so that players no longer have to worry about juggling around "the cap." Tanks will receive the necessary anti-crit from talents, like Survival of the Fittest.
- Armor Penetration: This ability is too confusing and "mathy." It is being replaced with Mastery, a stat that makes you better at what you do. More on that later!
- Haste: Will also increase the rate at which you gain energy, runes, and focus. Retribution paladins and Enhancement shaman will have a talent that allows them to take advantage of this benefit.
- Block: Block Value is being removed. Blocking will now always mitigate a percentage of damage.
- Stamina: Players will notice more Stamina on gear as Defense, Spell Power, Attack Power and Armor Penetration are removed.
Seriously??? WTF??? The current stats were too complicated? For who? The super casuals who don't raid? Why do they need really good gear in the first place? You can kill anything in northrend butt ass naked. It sure as hell isn't too complicated for me. Having varying stats on gear and having to make... OMG A CHOICE is one of the things I really enjoy about the endgame.
I mean its simple... the hardcore raiders and theory crafters love putting in the time and effort to figure this stuff out. You need a certain amount of armor pen before it starts beating out your other primary stat... and sometimes can be worse if you don't have all the armor debuffs required. Why is this a bad mechanic? I ask again... who is it too mathy for? The answer has to be the scrubs and the developers. Is it too hard for them to balance the game? Well they are removing the need to balance anything ever... and at the same time making the game extremely dull.
I understand the removal of MP5 and switching to spirit... even if I think the reasoning is thin. What I don't understand is removing spell power and attack power from the game. So now everyone gets to be like ret paladins and warriors.... start stacking that base stat! Oh all those GEM CHOICES forget those... casters don't need any red gem sockets ever again because all you need is loads of intellect.
I've gotten the sense that they have been making the game easier... but this truly is dumbing down the game. OMG THAT NEW CHEST PIECE HAS 5 MORE INTELLECT WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Whoever thought... that those of the boar type armor pieces would become best in slot itemization? How does any of this remotely make sense??? If these changes really do go live like this... I think it will be time for me to find another game. Because... I quit runescape for a reason damnit and it wasn't just so I could have shinier graphics.
4 comments:
"who is it too mathy for?"
Me.
I guess I'm a scrub, even if I'm often chosen MT for my guild's raids.
When some piece of gear drops, it's almost impossible for me to tell if it's an upgrade or not without using some external database (EJ, Rawr, etc..)
This is not how a videogame should be. Why do I have to use a spreadsheet to play a game?? It's ridiculous.
The problem with WoW is that it doesn't teach you how to play the real game (a.k.a endgame pve or pvp) you have to rely on external sources... or your in-game friends if you have any.
Leveling doesn't teach you about "def cap", "hit cap" or even the concept of "tank".
"All level 83 mobs have an extra chance to crit you of xxx% and you need to reduce that chance through stacking defense"
In which questline do they teach you that??? In which questline do they teach the concepts of "aggro", "threat", etc..?
Everybody mocks the "moron" DK's that stack spellpower. When stacking SP seems the most logical option since DK's use magical spells. But the game doesn't teach you that DK spells scale with AP (a physical stat), you must, again, consult EXTERNAL SOURCES! To play a f'cking game???
/end rant
See the thing about the current situation is that if a piece of gear drops it may not be an upgrade for you... but it may be for someone else of a different class or spec. With this kind of change literally every piece of gear that drops will be an upgrade unless someone already has it.
The fact that different classes favor different stats means that your choice on picking an upgrade actually matters. I'd wager that it actually feels like an upgrade rather then... oh its plate and has stam and str so it must be an upgrade because it has a higher ilvl.
You are right that the core game does not teach any of these mechanics... but this isn't a single player game. Its a multiplayer game and while the player base has certainly become more elitest lately... someone can at least point you in the right direction.
I have a problem with WoW removing the choices in the game because some people don't understand them. Most of those people don't need to either. Heck why not make raid bosses drop the complex loot and everything else can drop the of the boar armor?
I remember hitting Northrend on my DK during the Wrath beta and being extremely puzzled by quest reward gear. My main is a mage, so I had no idea how to value an item that has, say, Armor Penetration over Crit Rating over some extra AP.
Then there's the hit cap, which is not documented anywhere in the game in any form whatsoever. If you're solo questing against +/-2 mobs, it's possible to break the cap using only quest reward gear.
I don't know that I would have gone anywhere near as far as the crab ultimately did, but this kind of thing is a bit of an issue in the context of an expansion that all but begs players to roll alts. (I'll have more on this topic tomorrow.)
I understand your point. And it's pretty valid.
Maybe GC is going too far with the simplification, but some changes to the way stats work are really needed.
1) Superfluous stats: ArPen, SpellPen, Expertise.
2) Stats that need in-game clarification: Defense, Hit (and their caps).
3) Stat homogenization: Revamping spirit to work like mp5 (and getting rid of mp5) seems to me a very good move, since it makes things simplier and makes spirit a worthy stat by itself, istead of a stat that it's completely useless unless you have certain talents.
Of course I don't want a world full of "of the boar" drops that only have armor and two basic stats, but I think they won't go too far at the end. It's too early to tell.
Post a Comment