[MMO] WoW: Mists of Pandaria Beta
- Thread starter ScytheRexx
- Start date
- Status
E-mails have not gone out yet, but it will be activated under your game list on Battle.net if you got in already. That is how I noticed it. If you didn't get in yet, they will be rolling out invites as they go, starting out based on account join date and annual pass sign-up date.
That is the only reason I got in so quickly, nice perk of having been playing since 2004 and signing up for the pass once it came out.
I like how WoW is in the key position on Scythe's desktop.
I'd be disappointed if it was anything else, of course.
I'd be disappointed if it was anything else, of course.
Same here, 2004 and Annual pass during Blizzcon. Only thing is I've quit for 2-5 months at a time once or twice.
They never said they take that into account, but they might, since they didn't really talk about all the variables. All I know is keep an eye on your account game list, it will appear there before an e-mail is ever sent out. If it's not there yet, give it a few days, they will be rolling out more invites as they go.
P.S. I am glad the beta server is not fully online yet, because downloading 17GB of data is going to take awhile. Sheeesh.
P.S. I am glad the beta server is not fully online yet, because downloading 17GB of data is going to take awhile. Sheeesh.
After noticing the download was rather slow, I decided to just go to sleep and play some before work this morning. A few things I learned.
They have a new character creation screen which has you pick the race and class before moving on to the customization, allowing you to now pick the customization using small little picture windows that show what the customization looks like. While it's not finished, I have to be honest that I don't really like it. Something felt nice about having my eyes focus on the character while I went through the toggled option using the arrows, while this new system seems to have me look all over the place for what I want. It's not bad, it just feels... more complicated then it really needed to be.
Ended up creating a Female Pandaren Monk to give the new model a check and also try the new class for the first time. The Pandaren Females have a great model and very clean animations to go with the already well done animations of the male model. The different attacks feel very solid and powerful, like I am really doing damage. I have to say it really shows the age of the old models and animation systems, as I went to try a monk of an older race an hour later and found the attacks to feel rather weak in comparison, at least visually. The downside I have found so far is that the female model has the same issue as the Worgen Female, in that the customization choices don't really change the face all that much other the fur patterns. I hope to see more customization options down the line because right now it feels a little weak, even compared to the males.
The Monk itself is extremely fun, feels like they took a rogue and paladin, smashing them together to create something that feels both agile and powerful. Energy is the main resource, while a lot of the larger attacks utilize Chi. Chi itself is very similar to Combo Points or Holy Power, but unlike the latter examples it does not require a target and does not expire after a certain amount of time. You can pretty much enter a fight with full Chi, unload some powerful attacks, and then use Energy based abilities to recharge the Chi. One thing this has over rogues, in my opinion, is that the Chi attacks don't also require Energy (at least, so far) which means I never run out of either resource if you switch up the attacks well, always feeling like you have more then you can spend.
I have not seen Pandaria yet, but the Wandering Isle is gorgeous. Many people complain about the Chinese themes not fitting in the WarCraft setting, but I find it to be an extremely huge breath of fresh air. The style is so unique but once you play it feels so cohesive with everything you have already experianced in the game. The textures are so crisp and the new graphical effects really bring it all together. Even water got a new change and now reflects player characters, though seems a little bugged right now.
Will be playing a lot more when I get home, if anyone has any questions.
They have a new character creation screen which has you pick the race and class before moving on to the customization, allowing you to now pick the customization using small little picture windows that show what the customization looks like. While it's not finished, I have to be honest that I don't really like it. Something felt nice about having my eyes focus on the character while I went through the toggled option using the arrows, while this new system seems to have me look all over the place for what I want. It's not bad, it just feels... more complicated then it really needed to be.
Ended up creating a Female Pandaren Monk to give the new model a check and also try the new class for the first time. The Pandaren Females have a great model and very clean animations to go with the already well done animations of the male model. The different attacks feel very solid and powerful, like I am really doing damage. I have to say it really shows the age of the old models and animation systems, as I went to try a monk of an older race an hour later and found the attacks to feel rather weak in comparison, at least visually. The downside I have found so far is that the female model has the same issue as the Worgen Female, in that the customization choices don't really change the face all that much other the fur patterns. I hope to see more customization options down the line because right now it feels a little weak, even compared to the males.
The Monk itself is extremely fun, feels like they took a rogue and paladin, smashing them together to create something that feels both agile and powerful. Energy is the main resource, while a lot of the larger attacks utilize Chi. Chi itself is very similar to Combo Points or Holy Power, but unlike the latter examples it does not require a target and does not expire after a certain amount of time. You can pretty much enter a fight with full Chi, unload some powerful attacks, and then use Energy based abilities to recharge the Chi. One thing this has over rogues, in my opinion, is that the Chi attacks don't also require Energy (at least, so far) which means I never run out of either resource if you switch up the attacks well, always feeling like you have more then you can spend.
I have not seen Pandaria yet, but the Wandering Isle is gorgeous. Many people complain about the Chinese themes not fitting in the WarCraft setting, but I find it to be an extremely huge breath of fresh air. The style is so unique but once you play it feels so cohesive with everything you have already experianced in the game. The textures are so crisp and the new graphical effects really bring it all together. Even water got a new change and now reflects player characters, though seems a little bugged right now.
Will be playing a lot more when I get home, if anyone has any questions.
Hey, Shego...
The set comes from gaining a silver medal on all the Challenge Dungeons, and has not stats, only being usable for transmog over whatever gear you have. Since they are part of challenge modes they did go a little crazy with the fancy designs. You should see the shaman shoulders...
As for the game, had a bit more time to play last night. It is really buggy right now, as expected. Some of the skills on the Monk were not working correctly, and it seems like they are working to make it possible to pick your "spec" at level 1, but have not finished the coding so it still requires you to be level 10 before you choose (the only reason we think this is changing is because it shows you the trees starting out at 1 and some of the skills in the trees can be gained lower then level 10).
The new talents are awesome. I know some people will disagree and prefer the long trees, but for the first time in awhile I found myself actually considering what I wanted to choose on my character transfers. When my warrior got to Bladestorm, Shockwave, and Dragon Roar I stood for 10 minutes considering all the use each skill could give me. (Ended up picking Dragon Roar since it's new and going to be pretty fun for testing out in PVP)
Lastly, one interesting tidbit for warlocks out there, but Blizzard is right now toying with the idea of making Demonology a TANKING spec. It's not listed as one right now and still is mostly DPS abilities, but there are skills and glyphs that make it possible to become a demon form high mitigation tank with taunts and heavy threat gain. Popular opinion theorizes that Blizzard is doing this to see how fans react to tanking abilities and, if so, will either replace Demonology as a tanking spec or split off all these talents to make a forth tanking spec (similar to how Druids now have four specs). That is the last nice thing about the talent changes. Since talents are so simple now, and specs are now the basis for all those extra spec based skills, they can easily add a forth spec to any of the classes without much work.
As for the game, had a bit more time to play last night. It is really buggy right now, as expected. Some of the skills on the Monk were not working correctly, and it seems like they are working to make it possible to pick your "spec" at level 1, but have not finished the coding so it still requires you to be level 10 before you choose (the only reason we think this is changing is because it shows you the trees starting out at 1 and some of the skills in the trees can be gained lower then level 10).
The new talents are awesome. I know some people will disagree and prefer the long trees, but for the first time in awhile I found myself actually considering what I wanted to choose on my character transfers. When my warrior got to Bladestorm, Shockwave, and Dragon Roar I stood for 10 minutes considering all the use each skill could give me. (Ended up picking Dragon Roar since it's new and going to be pretty fun for testing out in PVP)
Lastly, one interesting tidbit for warlocks out there, but Blizzard is right now toying with the idea of making Demonology a TANKING spec. It's not listed as one right now and still is mostly DPS abilities, but there are skills and glyphs that make it possible to become a demon form high mitigation tank with taunts and heavy threat gain. Popular opinion theorizes that Blizzard is doing this to see how fans react to tanking abilities and, if so, will either replace Demonology as a tanking spec or split off all these talents to make a forth tanking spec (similar to how Druids now have four specs). That is the last nice thing about the talent changes. Since talents are so simple now, and specs are now the basis for all those extra spec based skills, they can easily add a forth spec to any of the classes without much work.
Warriors are getting some fun stuff this expansion and some mechanic changes. I am loving the increased mobility and things like Mass Spell Reflect. Dragon Roar will also be great for those times in dungeons you might need a breather, plus they have more self-healing options like I Second Wind (passive health regeneration chance on hit) or Impending Victory (active attack that replaces victory rush and can be used outside of the kill window).
I still think they need more to compete with some of the silly stuff Paladins and DKs are getting, but at least it's a start.
Dave
Staff member
When I was writing my game I always asked myself, "Why would someone play this class?" I don't think Blizzard asks themselves that. There's no need for Warriors or Rogues in the game any more. Warriors were replaced by Paladins, DKs and now Warlocks who can tank just as well and have other abilities besides.
Rogues are just DPS, but they have to be fairly close. Most magic classes - and the DK again, go figure - can out-DPS the Rogue and have other abilities besides. Add in the fact that most Rogue abilities are best used when stealthy and you have a class that can't run in most instances because everyone wants to run through the thing so fast the Rogue hardly ever gets to do anything but run up and start hitting.
And since both of those are my favorite classes...
Rogues are just DPS, but they have to be fairly close. Most magic classes - and the DK again, go figure - can out-DPS the Rogue and have other abilities besides. Add in the fact that most Rogue abilities are best used when stealthy and you have a class that can't run in most instances because everyone wants to run through the thing so fast the Rogue hardly ever gets to do anything but run up and start hitting.
And since both of those are my favorite classes...
I hear ya Dave. I loved the hell out of my rogue back in WotLK - did quests up to level 10, then hit the BGs and didn't stop (even after I hit 80). He was a PvP god (even allowing for the fact that I'm not necessarily all that great at PvP), but whenever I tried to take him into a dungeon (dual spec, running whatever it was at the time that ElitestJerks said to run rogue PvE in, in PvE gear) it was like I wasn't even there. And try as I might, I've never managed to get a warrior past level 40. They just feel contrived to me - which is sad since they were there first.
Scythe, have you had a chance to play through the starting zone for the Pandarens, up to the point where you're forced to choose a faction, or has it been too buggy? The teasers surrounding having to make a choice like that sound really cool, I'd love to know if it actually feels like a dramatic choice or not.
Scythe, have you had a chance to play through the starting zone for the Pandarens, up to the point where you're forced to choose a faction, or has it been too buggy? The teasers surrounding having to make a choice like that sound really cool, I'd love to know if it actually feels like a dramatic choice or not.
I don't agree, at all.
Warriors and Rogues are still very powerful classes, they do well. Rogues are actually much higher DPS in Dragon Soul then many other class including the DK, up there with fire mages, while the bottom are crowded with classes like Boomkin and Warlocks. Warriors saw a very large boost that put them above DKs on the general average. I think your recent inexperience from quitting has made you fall behind on your knowledge.
When it comes to your claiming the warrior is not needed anymore, the problem I think is you are looking at what the warrior lost, which back in BC was "exclusive" tanking. Warriors still are great tanks, falling behind a little yes, but still fun, and the DPS specs are still doing fine, staying generally competitive. Could they be better tanks? I think they can be, but they can't reach a point again where people find it stupid to bring anything other then a warrior. Right now Druids and Blood DKs are the majority tanks you will fine because they edge out in the areas people like their tanks, which is high mitigation and "built-in" blocking mechanics that allow them to stack of more mitigation. The high amount of self-healing does not hurt either.
Blizzard is trying to make it so the main tanking niche of warriors this time around is control. No one will have more control in a fight then warriors will in MoP.
A rogue falling behind because groups are fast is a bit silly. Any rogue worth his salt will be stealthed and behind the next mob before the rest of the group can even catch their breath from the last one. Most groups I am in the rogue positions himself behind the next group before the rest of the team even finishes looting, because he can. It's a much faster paced style of play, one I know many people enjoy, and while it's true when creatures get killed fast the rogue does not get to enjoy as much usage of finishing moves, they get a ton of variance in boss fights, slower fights, or pvp. I still get destroyed by good rogues.
Warriors and Rogues are still very powerful classes, they do well. Rogues are actually much higher DPS in Dragon Soul then many other class including the DK, up there with fire mages, while the bottom are crowded with classes like Boomkin and Warlocks. Warriors saw a very large boost that put them above DKs on the general average. I think your recent inexperience from quitting has made you fall behind on your knowledge.
When it comes to your claiming the warrior is not needed anymore, the problem I think is you are looking at what the warrior lost, which back in BC was "exclusive" tanking. Warriors still are great tanks, falling behind a little yes, but still fun, and the DPS specs are still doing fine, staying generally competitive. Could they be better tanks? I think they can be, but they can't reach a point again where people find it stupid to bring anything other then a warrior. Right now Druids and Blood DKs are the majority tanks you will fine because they edge out in the areas people like their tanks, which is high mitigation and "built-in" blocking mechanics that allow them to stack of more mitigation. The high amount of self-healing does not hurt either.
Blizzard is trying to make it so the main tanking niche of warriors this time around is control. No one will have more control in a fight then warriors will in MoP.
A rogue falling behind because groups are fast is a bit silly. Any rogue worth his salt will be stealthed and behind the next mob before the rest of the group can even catch their breath from the last one. Most groups I am in the rogue positions himself behind the next group before the rest of the team even finishes looting, because he can. It's a much faster paced style of play, one I know many people enjoy, and while it's true when creatures get killed fast the rogue does not get to enjoy as much usage of finishing moves, they get a ton of variance in boss fights, slower fights, or pvp. I still get destroyed by good rogues.
I was, right now it's not extremely dramatic, but there are a lot of cutscenes still missing from the whole thing. Basically...
You are told by your master sensai that something is wrong with the island, which sits on the back of a massive turtle, and you have to gather the four elemental spirits that watch over the island to start finding out whats wrong. You gather each of the elemental spirits, which take the form of small, almost childlike sprites. Once that is done the sensai decides to break a few hundred year old silence they had with the turtle itself, entrusting you to carry out the conversation, before passing away. You go with Asya and Ji, two pandaren monks that embody different philosophies (Asya is more reserved and patient, Ji is more hotheaded and brash) that you have been alternating working with during much of the quests.
Once you speak with the turtle (which is amazing, as you fly in a balloon past him and the whole turtle head comes out of the water and starts looking at you, he is friggin huge), you learn that he has a "thorn" stuck in him that is slowly killing him, and one he can no reach himself to remove. He asks you to save him, for if he dies the whole island would fall below the waves, killing everyone. You fly the balloon over to the forest where "feet don't walk" and see the Skyfire, the Alliance ship you ride during the DS raid, crashed and lodged in the turtles side.
You join with Asya and Ji to travel into the forest and find an old hermit that lives there. You find him with some Horde crewmen that escaped the Alliance, who imprisoned them on the ship (it is not yet explained why they did this). Asya goes off to find the Alliance near the ship while you stay with Ji and the Horde to figure out how to remove the Skyfire. Ji and the Horde come to the conclusion to use explosives to blow the ship away.
Once you have the explosives from working with the Horde, you join Asya and the Alliance who are fighting for survival as the ship is being attacked by lizardmen that are coming up from the sea. You save Alliance sailors and gather medical supplies, before helping Asya kill a big lizardman that is attacking her. You tell her about the bombs and she freaks out, since it could kill the island. Asya and Ji talk about it and Asya finally relents to Ji's plan, they blow up the ship causing a huge bleeding gash in the turtles shell.
Frantically you gather Alliance Priests and Horde Druids, who go to the wound to heal it. You have to protect them from the still attacking lizardmen, but they in the end successfully heal the wound, saving the island. You leave the area with the Horde and Alliance once again having a "standoff".
It finally ends you with you meeting the spirit of your old master, who says that the turtle is not the only part of the world suffering, and that they need to start moving out to help heal what damage has been done, starting with you, Asya, and Ji. Asya decides to go become ambassador with the Alliance, still angry at Ji for almost killing the turtle, while Ji decides to go with the Horde, confident that in the end he made the right choice since they healed the turtle before he perished. The sensai's then says it is now your choice who you wish to support going out into the world, and a window appears giving you a rundown of both factions. You click which one you want and it ports you to Stormwind or Orgrimmar with Asya or Ji, to meet with Varian or Garrosh.
Once you speak with the turtle (which is amazing, as you fly in a balloon past him and the whole turtle head comes out of the water and starts looking at you, he is friggin huge), you learn that he has a "thorn" stuck in him that is slowly killing him, and one he can no reach himself to remove. He asks you to save him, for if he dies the whole island would fall below the waves, killing everyone. You fly the balloon over to the forest where "feet don't walk" and see the Skyfire, the Alliance ship you ride during the DS raid, crashed and lodged in the turtles side.
You join with Asya and Ji to travel into the forest and find an old hermit that lives there. You find him with some Horde crewmen that escaped the Alliance, who imprisoned them on the ship (it is not yet explained why they did this). Asya goes off to find the Alliance near the ship while you stay with Ji and the Horde to figure out how to remove the Skyfire. Ji and the Horde come to the conclusion to use explosives to blow the ship away.
Once you have the explosives from working with the Horde, you join Asya and the Alliance who are fighting for survival as the ship is being attacked by lizardmen that are coming up from the sea. You save Alliance sailors and gather medical supplies, before helping Asya kill a big lizardman that is attacking her. You tell her about the bombs and she freaks out, since it could kill the island. Asya and Ji talk about it and Asya finally relents to Ji's plan, they blow up the ship causing a huge bleeding gash in the turtles shell.
Frantically you gather Alliance Priests and Horde Druids, who go to the wound to heal it. You have to protect them from the still attacking lizardmen, but they in the end successfully heal the wound, saving the island. You leave the area with the Horde and Alliance once again having a "standoff".
It finally ends you with you meeting the spirit of your old master, who says that the turtle is not the only part of the world suffering, and that they need to start moving out to help heal what damage has been done, starting with you, Asya, and Ji. Asya decides to go become ambassador with the Alliance, still angry at Ji for almost killing the turtle, while Ji decides to go with the Horde, confident that in the end he made the right choice since they healed the turtle before he perished. The sensai's then says it is now your choice who you wish to support going out into the world, and a window appears giving you a rundown of both factions. You click which one you want and it ports you to Stormwind or Orgrimmar with Asya or Ji, to meet with Varian or Garrosh.
Actually, that bit about recent break causing knowledge lag could apply to both of us. I've been continuing to pay for my sub like a good little Annual Pass member (so I could get into the beta and so I could get D3 for free), but haven't really kept up on my actual playing, because I've been waiting for the beta and playing other stuff, like Skyrim and the Mass Effect trilogy. Maybe this time around I'll actually have the brain power and free time duing the beta to really test the new mechanics of various classes. I wasn't terribly effective last time.
That is always a problem, balance is a difficult beast and a class that is weak in one patch may be destroying in other patches. I still think, overall, the balance is pretty good. Some do lag behind, and others still do more, but the variance is not so bad that I don't see a certain class being totally excluded from general raids or causing groups to wipe over and over because the class has built-in problems with it's role.
It can always get better (or worst) but I think saying rogues and warriors are not "needed" anymore is a bit silly. If we break it down we would only ever "need" three classes, one to heal, one to dps, and one to hold aggro and take the hits during that time. Find out the best of each class that handles each roll and everyone just picks those classes all the time.
You should play a class you like, knowing you will be successful, rather then worry that another class might be a few % better then you during that patch cycle.
It can always get better (or worst) but I think saying rogues and warriors are not "needed" anymore is a bit silly. If we break it down we would only ever "need" three classes, one to heal, one to dps, and one to hold aggro and take the hits during that time. Find out the best of each class that handles each roll and everyone just picks those classes all the time.
You should play a class you like, knowing you will be successful, rather then worry that another class might be a few % better then you during that patch cycle.
I agree with warlocks, but I see rogues all over the place. They are definitely one of the more popular ones right now, probably due to the legendaries.
The problem with warlocks is they are like mages, but don't have the mobility of mages. This is why people think they are experimenting with a tanking spec, because they are going to try to make warlocks into very tough to kill mages, relying more on high damage reduction rather then on mobility. A lot of the "tanking" skills can be used by more the just demonology locks, though they will have the most with Demonform and Nether Plating.
Yeah, I'm never terribly concerned that someone else playing another character class is going to be better at my chosen role than I am, mainly I try to make sure that I'm playing my class as well as I can and do my best to make sure I'm not getting beat out by other class members. I mainly play the other classes to see if I can have as much fun with them as I do with my paladin(s) and mage(s). So far paladins, mages, and rogues (which I haven't really enjoyed since Cata hit) have been my favorite classes to play, but I'm constantly going back to the others to see if they've made enough changes in various patches that I have fun with them. So far, they have not.
I think the faction choice question is probably going to be harder for me to make as a player than they necessarily designed it to be. On the one hand, Garrosh is insane (as is pre-ordained by the fact that he's the end boss of this expac) and is leading the horde to ruin. On the other hand, I've never had all that much faith in Varian, ever since the breaking of the accords between Jaina and Thrall and the ensuing encroachment by the Alliance down by Ratchet; not to mention that little scene at the end of the follow-up to the Wrathgate when Thrall is attempting to help Sylvanas take Undercity back and Varian shows up to kill them for the apothecary's transgressions.
I think the faction choice question is probably going to be harder for me to make as a player than they necessarily designed it to be. On the one hand, Garrosh is insane (as is pre-ordained by the fact that he's the end boss of this expac) and is leading the horde to ruin. On the other hand, I've never had all that much faith in Varian, ever since the breaking of the accords between Jaina and Thrall and the ensuing encroachment by the Alliance down by Ratchet; not to mention that little scene at the end of the follow-up to the Wrathgate when Thrall is attempting to help Sylvanas take Undercity back and Varian shows up to kill them for the apothecary's transgressions.
Varian would be so much cooler if they just kept his personality at the end of the MoP Beta Pandaren Intro.
"Haayy Guurrrlll!" - upon turning in breadcrumb.
"Follow me, let's talk about stuff" - Runs off at high speed outside.
"I am the king. Fight me. - Before starting a small sparring match.
"You're cool. Welcome to the Alliance" - on finishing the little introduction chain.
Some small details from the start of MoP that we know about, including the reason behind why they find Pandaria.
At some point Garrosh sends a team to kidnap Anduin Wrynn, and they succeed. Varian sends a huge amount of forces to stop the ship carrying Anduin from reaching Orgrimmar, which causes both fleets to move farther and farther south. The ship finally breaks through the blockade, but is attacked by huge amounts of Alliance flying machines, that destroy all of the ships convoy fleet and causes them to escape into a nearby fog (the mists that surround Pandaria) The ship never comes out of the fog.
Garrosh, pissed that his prisoner of interest is not sitting chained in front of him, sends the Horde player and a small group to find the missing ship in the fog. Varian, worried about his son, does the same, sending the Alliance player with a small group to rescue his son from the ship. In the end, both crash land on Pandaria, thus how our players starts involving himself in the island. Blizzard says that Anduin actually escapes the ship, which also crashed, and will be a character that appears a lot on the island in various areas either helping Alliance players or avoiding Horde capture.
Garrosh, pissed that his prisoner of interest is not sitting chained in front of him, sends the Horde player and a small group to find the missing ship in the fog. Varian, worried about his son, does the same, sending the Alliance player with a small group to rescue his son from the ship. In the end, both crash land on Pandaria, thus how our players starts involving himself in the island. Blizzard says that Anduin actually escapes the ship, which also crashed, and will be a character that appears a lot on the island in various areas either helping Alliance players or avoiding Horde capture.
It's an interesting concept to get people to play them for sure. However even with the surge in rogues with the legendaries, the Census sites still show them barely above Warlock for least played.
I have both, as well as the other dps classes and i have to admit that Rogue is probably my favorite class "toys" wise, it can't hold a candle to a equally skilled/geared Mage/Hunter (sadly also due to mechanics) on any fight other than Patchwork style. The biggest problem here was the homoginization of the classes. Each class was pretty equal on invites when they all had unique buffs to bring to the raids, now you'll bring the class that gives the same buff as all the rest but has higher dps.
I have both, as well as the other dps classes and i have to admit that Rogue is probably my favorite class "toys" wise, it can't hold a candle to a equally skilled/geared Mage/Hunter (sadly also due to mechanics) on any fight other than Patchwork style. The biggest problem here was the homoginization of the classes. Each class was pretty equal on invites when they all had unique buffs to bring to the raids, now you'll bring the class that gives the same buff as all the rest but has higher dps.
Still half constructed for now. Blizzard says they want to fix Stormwind and finish Orgrimmar, but they want to do it a bit later, likely going to happen in a patch. I have a feeling Orgrimmar will not be finished until 5.3 when Thrall takes over the Horde once again, because then they can finish it and change some of the aesthetic once again to better fit back a bit with the older styling that fit better for Thrall's Horde.
I will admit that rogues are a much harder class to play over, say, a mage. I still don't think that makes them bad though, it just makes them less casual friendly. Rogues may not be played in raids as much as mages, but I still say I see them a lot. BGs have many rogues, they are a popular PVP class.
Aye, though I dont mind totems like grounding, tremor, etc where they are tactical totems but I really dislike having to drop buff totems then forgo buffs when I drop tactical totems. It has urked me since WotLK that a DK can have our buffs in superior form(I don't quite like that they went away from buffs being a class unique perk I don't hate their direction with homogenized buffs either) so having totems has went from a powerful unique buffs with the cost of managing totems to a hinderance.
I am looking forward to seeing how they have changed the totem line-up in MoP beta.
I am looking forward to seeing how they have changed the totem line-up in MoP beta.
If you hate the buff totems, then you will love MoP. They decided to consolidate a lot of the buffs, and as such all the aura buffs, including paladin auras, shaman buff totems, hunter trueshot aura, etc... have all be completely removed.
Totems are now all tactically placed with a light cooldown and additions to fill out the roster. Two examples of new or changed totems is Capacitor Totem, which does a stun pulse after a certain amount of time, and Healing Stream Totem, which now much more rapidly heals the most injured player standing near it.
Totems are expected to be planted as the need arises and otherwise still follow the same rules of only one totem per element, based on if you need something like Grounding, Termor, Capacitor, Earthbind, etc... Because they know this will make it a lot easier for people to notice and kill important totems, they even added a glyph that makes it so the old "four totem" drop is possible with three decoys that don't give you any bonus, but can be great to trick people in PVP or just nostalgia.
Totems are now all tactically placed with a light cooldown and additions to fill out the roster. Two examples of new or changed totems is Capacitor Totem, which does a stun pulse after a certain amount of time, and Healing Stream Totem, which now much more rapidly heals the most injured player standing near it.
Totems are expected to be planted as the need arises and otherwise still follow the same rules of only one totem per element, based on if you need something like Grounding, Termor, Capacitor, Earthbind, etc... Because they know this will make it a lot easier for people to notice and kill important totems, they even added a glyph that makes it so the old "four totem" drop is possible with three decoys that don't give you any bonus, but can be great to trick people in PVP or just nostalgia.
For the record, I'm going to predict that eventually class choice will be irrellevant and every class will have a tree that fills in one of the BIG 3 roles. It seems to be the direction they've been taking for quite some time now.
I personally have been against the homogenization of classes from the start.
I know what you are trying to say, but technically every class already has a tree that fills one of the BIG 3 roles.
Personally, if you go by ability, class choice is already irreverent. It's the fluff, the unique tools, feel, and utilized abilities that make people want to play a certain class over another. Yes, my shaman when in a raid usually shoots off blasts like I am a mage, but my mage does not have totems, and my shaman does not have blink or invis, just like my warlock has pets, etc.. Those will keep it from becoming completely irrelevant, at least in my opinion. The relevance will just be more in choosing what you enjoy, rather then worrying about what one is the best or most unique.
I just miss actual specialization. Back in the day (yeah, i know this sounds like a "get off my lawn" rant), the different trees were more leveling/instancing/utility. They've now morphed into healing/tanking/DPS, and I think that detracts fromt he classes themselves. Then again, I was against Shadow Priests from the very start. I dunno, it's all down to taste, but I liked having defined tanking/dps/healing classes with a few hybrids thrown in, like Palladins, Shaman, and Druids.
Don't get me wrong, I understand WHY they're doing it (I remember waiting forever for a warrior to fill out a party), but that doesn't mean I necessarily support it.
Don't get me wrong, I understand WHY they're doing it (I remember waiting forever for a warrior to fill out a party), but that doesn't mean I necessarily support it.
Warlock tank? Really? I just don't understand why. The lack of tanks doesn't come from the lack of classes that can tank, but from people just not enjoying it. Its too damn easy to level to say you can only have one character. If they want to homogenize it that much, how will mages tank? Through their elemental? Or will they heal... maybe we need dk healers who pull life from the mob and transfer it to the party member. How about rogue tanks? Some classes just don't make sense for certain roles.
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