Says Mr. Jeffrey Kaplan on the beta boards. I guess they pulled down the servers without the fifteen-minute warning. Whoops! From part of his post on what's in this build (and what will be in future builds):
"You won't like the ones [class changes] made to your own class but you'll think the changes made to the 9 other classes are all overpowered."
Luckily I don't see much in the way of wild sweeping changes. Here's what I found.
Druids
Typhoon range has been extended from 20 to 30 yards.
Insect Swarm hit chance reduction lowered from 5% to 3%. Damage increased. (1050 to 1290 for Rank 7, 792 to 1032 for Rank 6, etc ...)
Wrath damage has been increased. (489-551 to 553-623 for Rank 12, 414-466 to 504-568 for Rank 11, etc ...)
Stafire damage has been increased. (670-790 to 1028-1212 for Rank 10, 562-662 to 854-1006 for Rank 9, etc ...)
Great, great, great, and great. I'm fine with the tradeoff on Insect Swarm, especially when we get what looks like roughly a 20% damage increase.
Eclipse now increase your critical strike chance with Starfire by 15%. (up from 10%)
Oh, wait, Eclipse still sucks!
You can now cast Innervate while in Tree of Life Form
Good for Drooood healers. I didn't know it wasn't castable in Tree form, but it's something Tree Druids use, so that's great.
Mages
Arcane Blast cost is now increased by 200% for each cast. (Down from 300%)
As it turns out this ain't no typo. They don't want people spamming Arcane Blast. Here's the thing though: if they're going to make the principle mechanic of the spell useless, why don't they just remove it? Give the spell a 3 second cooldown.
Paladins
Hammer of Justice now also interrupts the spellcasting for 3 seconds on all ranks.
Hmmm.... this seems.... useless? The only scenario where I can think of this being useful is if you were to HoJ a Mage out of his Arcane tree, preventing him from Blinking out of the stun. But because the stun is longer than the lockout, unless you're going to trinket/EMFH/etc out of the stun, what good is it going to do? Even if you were to escape the stun early, it's a super-short lockout.
Rogues
Opportunity now works all the time. (Old - Only increased the damage of attacks from behind)
That's a pretty wicked boost for Assassination builds now that Mutilate doesn't require you to be behind your target.
Shaman
Stoneclaw totem also protects your other totems, causing them to absorb damage.
The highest-rank Stoneclaw Totem has over 1600 health on it, and coupled with the stun chance that makes for a longer-lasting totem. Only problem: using it in PvP locks out the use of SoE+GoA and the new talent-able Earthbind. But hey, at least it prevents stuff from being one-shot, and the more time someone's pet spends hitting your Stoneclaw Totem and getting stunned, the less time they spend on you. And you can drop it every 30 seconds!
I wonder if all this goes up on the PTRs. Last I checked it did, sans the Northrend content obviously. Still haven't renewed my subscription. I'll get to it eventually...
Showing posts with label rogues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rogues. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Build 8962 notes
Problem: I have the first article in a series of articles about my Balance Druid talent tree, but there's been probably 4 or 5 builds worth of changes to that tree, many things I'd like to stick in mine. So I might as well just throw out that post, update my tree (with my new ideas and what Blizz has done), and start over. THAT will sure be fun.
Let's talk Boomkins, and then anything else that catches my interest. All of this comes from MMO-Champion.
Druid: Balance
Earth and Moon (Tier 10) changed so your Wrath and Starfire spells have a 100% chance to apply the Earth and Moon effect. It now also increases your spell damage by 1/2/3/4/5%. (Previously had a 20/40/60/80/100% chance to apply the Earth and Moon Effect)
We like more spell damage, but the spell damage was probably added to incentivize going 5/5 in the talent; previously most people probably would have saved 2 talent points by going 3/5 for a 60% proc rate.
Eclipse (Tier 9) changed so when you critically hit with Starfire, you have a 33/66/100% chance of increasing damage done by Wrath by 10%. (Previously 20/40/60% chance)
Eclipse still sucks, and that's all. I might give this talent its own post, because I have ideas for how to make it better.
Improved Moonkin Aura (Tier 7) gives 3% spell haste for all ranks and now you gain 5/10/15% of your spirit as additional spell damage.
I was hoping for Spirit to Spell Crit, but a blue post on the Druid boards says that they think that's too much crit, dangit. But only fifteen percent? If Druids have 400 Spirit, that's only 60 spell damage. Maybe they'll have more than that, but give them 100 more Spirit and the damage increase still isn't much.
Improved Faerie Fire (Tier 7) increases your critical strike chance against targets afflicted with Faerie Fire by 1/2/3%.
We like crit, but I'll leave it to the theorycrafters to determine if the mana and global cooldown lost on keeping FF up will justify the additional crit. And is it your personal crit chance or is it the crit chance for the whole raid? They should clarify the tooltip.
Nature's Splendor (Tier 3) changed to - When you cast Moonfire, Insect Swarm, Rejuvenation, Regrowth or Lifebloom you have a 33/66/100% chance to increase it's duration by 3 sec.
Makes more sense than the old way, considering most periodic spells tick every 3 seconds, except Lifebloom.
Druid: Restoration
Gift of the Wild now affects the whole raid.
We like this; less reagents when buffing the raid. Not that uh, I've ever been in a group larger than five people.
Lifebloom healing reduced. Mana cost increased. (Check Skill list for details)
Oh noes! More nerfs to Lifebloom. Yet Another Blue Post I may need to talk about is the one about the shift Blizz wants to make in Druid healing. They want it to be less reliant on Lifebloom; they want to get Druids out of the "roll LB + place HoTs in between" thing. Also, apparently the healing coefficients on Lifebloom when BC launched were too high. So it's a total accident that Druids are good healers, basically.
Flourish renamed Wild Growth.
Whhhaaat? That's my sweet Herbalism heal. That I can use in Moonkin Form.
Wild Growth renamed Lifeblood. Lame! That's a name that is dumb I think.
Druid: Feral
Glyph of Swipe has been removed.
IIRC (and hey, who checks facts these days?), Glyph of Swipe upped the number of targets hit by a Swipe from 3 to 4, which sounds really good. Instead, we get this...
Glyph of Maul has been added - Your Maul ability now hits 1 additional target.
I don't get it. I haven't Bear tanked on my Druid since Zul'Farak, but I'm pretty sure I spammed Swipe most of the time. Which, you know, may or may not be how you "AoE tank," but it worked good enough for me. So why are they giving the Bear tanks two methods of hitting more than one dude? Like I said, maybe I'm out of my mind, but I would think most Ferals would rather have a 4-target swipe than a 2-target Maul.
Mage: Arcane
Arcane Blast changed. Each time you cast Arcane Blast, the damage is increased by 15% and mana cost is increased by 300%. (Previously 25% damage increase and 75% mana increase, but the 300% is most likely a typo and should be 30%)
Ha ha. I wonder if that typo reflects in-game? Probably not, but I would like to see the numbers for that.
Mage: Fire
Flamestrike mana cost reduced and is now a 2 sec cast. (Previously 3 sec cast)
This might make the Firestarter talent more attractive.
Mage: Frost
Frozen Core (Tier 5) now reduces damage taken by all spells. (Previously only affected fire and frost)
This seemed like a useless talent before, when it only mitigated Fire and Frost damage.
Shatter (Tier 4) is now 3 ranks. It increases the critical strike chance of all your spells against frozen targets by 17/34/50%. (Previously 5 ranks and increased by 10/20/30/40/50%)
Ice Shards (Tier 2) is now 3 ranks. It increases the critical strike damage bonus of your Frost spells by 33/66/100%. (Previously 5 ranks and increased by 20/40/60/80/100%)
We like the condensing of talents, especially the "necessary" talents that Blizzard is trying to cut down on. Simply cutting down on the point cost works great.
Paladin: Glyphs
Glyph of Turn Evil now Reduces the casting time of your Turn Evil spell by 100%. (Old - Reduces the cooldown on Turn Evil by 5 sec.)
Chain-fear those dang Metamorphisizeded Warlocks!
Priest: Shadow
Dispersion (Tier 11) changed to - You disperse into pure Shadow energy, reducing all damage taken by 90%. You are unable to attack or cast spells, but you regenerate 6% mana every 1 sec for 6 sec. Dispersion can be cast while stunned, feared or silenced. If Dispersion runs its full duration, and you are not the victim of any damage or harmful effects during its duration, your spells gain 25% damage for 1 min.
So it's like Barkskin now, but way better in terms of damage reduction. And the spell damage will make it better for grouping, since 6 sec. without damage is probably 6 sec. too much for a lot of people.
Rogue: Assassination
Ambush damage increased. (Check skill list for details)
Rogues rejoice!
Focused Attacks (Tier 8) gives your melee critical strikes 100% chance to generate 1/2/3 Energy. (Previously 30% chance)
Still doesn't sound good; it should be at least 10 energy. Rather, 10 energy with a low proc rate.
Rogue: Combat
Backstab damage increased. (Check skill list for details)
Rogues continue to rejoice...
Shaman: Enhancement
*New Talent* Earthen Power (Tier 9) - Your Earthbind Totem has a 50/100% chance to also remove all snare effects from you and nearby friendly targets when it pulses.
That's pretty neat.
Warlock: Glyphs
Glyph of Unending Breath - Increases the swim speed of targets affected by your Unending Breath spell by 20%.
Why do Shaman still have to spend a reagent for the same effect?
Warrior: Fury
*New Talent* Heroic Fury (Tier 9) - Removes any Immobilization effects and refreshes the cooldown of your Intercept ability. (45 Sec Cooldown)
This makes casters sad, but it's something PVP Warriors have really needed.
Warrior: Protection
Tactical Mastery has been moved to Tier 2 Arms.
Makes more sense there.
Well, that's all I see that's interesting. Because, you know, I just kinda skimmed it.
WHAT'S THIS?!
*New Skill* Freezing Arrow (Level 80) - Fire a freezing arrow that places a Freezing Trap at the target location, freezing the first enemy that approaches, preventing all action for up to 20 sec. Any damage caused will break the ice. Trap will exist for . Only one trap can be active at a time. (3% of base mana, 40 yd range, Instant cast, 30 sec cooldown)
That's pretty neat. That's really neat. Based on some forum browsin', the only problem is you have to use the target cirlce. And as we all know, aiming a targeting circle in PVP is usually coupled with fail, as you're either standing still while you aim it or your running backwards useless or something like that. I'm sure they won't make it a direct target; that would be too easy.
Let's talk Boomkins, and then anything else that catches my interest. All of this comes from MMO-Champion.
Druid: Balance
Earth and Moon (Tier 10) changed so your Wrath and Starfire spells have a 100% chance to apply the Earth and Moon effect. It now also increases your spell damage by 1/2/3/4/5%. (Previously had a 20/40/60/80/100% chance to apply the Earth and Moon Effect)
We like more spell damage, but the spell damage was probably added to incentivize going 5/5 in the talent; previously most people probably would have saved 2 talent points by going 3/5 for a 60% proc rate.
Eclipse (Tier 9) changed so when you critically hit with Starfire, you have a 33/66/100% chance of increasing damage done by Wrath by 10%. (Previously 20/40/60% chance)
Eclipse still sucks, and that's all. I might give this talent its own post, because I have ideas for how to make it better.
Improved Moonkin Aura (Tier 7) gives 3% spell haste for all ranks and now you gain 5/10/15% of your spirit as additional spell damage.
I was hoping for Spirit to Spell Crit, but a blue post on the Druid boards says that they think that's too much crit, dangit. But only fifteen percent? If Druids have 400 Spirit, that's only 60 spell damage. Maybe they'll have more than that, but give them 100 more Spirit and the damage increase still isn't much.
Improved Faerie Fire (Tier 7) increases your critical strike chance against targets afflicted with Faerie Fire by 1/2/3%.
We like crit, but I'll leave it to the theorycrafters to determine if the mana and global cooldown lost on keeping FF up will justify the additional crit. And is it your personal crit chance or is it the crit chance for the whole raid? They should clarify the tooltip.
Nature's Splendor (Tier 3) changed to - When you cast Moonfire, Insect Swarm, Rejuvenation, Regrowth or Lifebloom you have a 33/66/100% chance to increase it's duration by 3 sec.
Makes more sense than the old way, considering most periodic spells tick every 3 seconds, except Lifebloom.
Druid: Restoration
Gift of the Wild now affects the whole raid.
We like this; less reagents when buffing the raid. Not that uh, I've ever been in a group larger than five people.
Lifebloom healing reduced. Mana cost increased. (Check Skill list for details)
Oh noes! More nerfs to Lifebloom. Yet Another Blue Post I may need to talk about is the one about the shift Blizz wants to make in Druid healing. They want it to be less reliant on Lifebloom; they want to get Druids out of the "roll LB + place HoTs in between" thing. Also, apparently the healing coefficients on Lifebloom when BC launched were too high. So it's a total accident that Druids are good healers, basically.
Flourish renamed Wild Growth.
Whhhaaat? That's my sweet Herbalism heal. That I can use in Moonkin Form.
Wild Growth renamed Lifeblood. Lame! That's a name that is dumb I think.
Druid: Feral
Glyph of Swipe has been removed.
IIRC (and hey, who checks facts these days?), Glyph of Swipe upped the number of targets hit by a Swipe from 3 to 4, which sounds really good. Instead, we get this...
Glyph of Maul has been added - Your Maul ability now hits 1 additional target.
I don't get it. I haven't Bear tanked on my Druid since Zul'Farak, but I'm pretty sure I spammed Swipe most of the time. Which, you know, may or may not be how you "AoE tank," but it worked good enough for me. So why are they giving the Bear tanks two methods of hitting more than one dude? Like I said, maybe I'm out of my mind, but I would think most Ferals would rather have a 4-target swipe than a 2-target Maul.
Mage: Arcane
Arcane Blast changed. Each time you cast Arcane Blast, the damage is increased by 15% and mana cost is increased by 300%. (Previously 25% damage increase and 75% mana increase, but the 300% is most likely a typo and should be 30%)
Ha ha. I wonder if that typo reflects in-game? Probably not, but I would like to see the numbers for that.
Mage: Fire
Flamestrike mana cost reduced and is now a 2 sec cast. (Previously 3 sec cast)
This might make the Firestarter talent more attractive.
Mage: Frost
Frozen Core (Tier 5) now reduces damage taken by all spells. (Previously only affected fire and frost)
This seemed like a useless talent before, when it only mitigated Fire and Frost damage.
Shatter (Tier 4) is now 3 ranks. It increases the critical strike chance of all your spells against frozen targets by 17/34/50%. (Previously 5 ranks and increased by 10/20/30/40/50%)
Ice Shards (Tier 2) is now 3 ranks. It increases the critical strike damage bonus of your Frost spells by 33/66/100%. (Previously 5 ranks and increased by 20/40/60/80/100%)
We like the condensing of talents, especially the "necessary" talents that Blizzard is trying to cut down on. Simply cutting down on the point cost works great.
Paladin: Glyphs
Glyph of Turn Evil now Reduces the casting time of your Turn Evil spell by 100%. (Old - Reduces the cooldown on Turn Evil by 5 sec.)
Chain-fear those dang Metamorphisizeded Warlocks!
Priest: Shadow
Dispersion (Tier 11) changed to - You disperse into pure Shadow energy, reducing all damage taken by 90%. You are unable to attack or cast spells, but you regenerate 6% mana every 1 sec for 6 sec. Dispersion can be cast while stunned, feared or silenced. If Dispersion runs its full duration, and you are not the victim of any damage or harmful effects during its duration, your spells gain 25% damage for 1 min.
So it's like Barkskin now, but way better in terms of damage reduction. And the spell damage will make it better for grouping, since 6 sec. without damage is probably 6 sec. too much for a lot of people.
Rogue: Assassination
Ambush damage increased. (Check skill list for details)
Rogues rejoice!
Focused Attacks (Tier 8) gives your melee critical strikes 100% chance to generate 1/2/3 Energy. (Previously 30% chance)
Still doesn't sound good; it should be at least 10 energy. Rather, 10 energy with a low proc rate.
Rogue: Combat
Backstab damage increased. (Check skill list for details)
Rogues continue to rejoice...
Shaman: Enhancement
*New Talent* Earthen Power (Tier 9) - Your Earthbind Totem has a 50/100% chance to also remove all snare effects from you and nearby friendly targets when it pulses.
That's pretty neat.
Warlock: Glyphs
Glyph of Unending Breath - Increases the swim speed of targets affected by your Unending Breath spell by 20%.
Why do Shaman still have to spend a reagent for the same effect?
Warrior: Fury
*New Talent* Heroic Fury (Tier 9) - Removes any Immobilization effects and refreshes the cooldown of your Intercept ability. (45 Sec Cooldown)
This makes casters sad, but it's something PVP Warriors have really needed.
Warrior: Protection
Tactical Mastery has been moved to Tier 2 Arms.
Makes more sense there.
Well, that's all I see that's interesting. Because, you know, I just kinda skimmed it.
WHAT'S THIS?!
*New Skill* Freezing Arrow (Level 80) - Fire a freezing arrow that places a Freezing Trap at the target location, freezing the first enemy that approaches, preventing all action for up to 20 sec. Any damage caused will break the ice. Trap will exist for . Only one trap can be active at a time. (3% of base mana, 40 yd range, Instant cast, 30 sec cooldown)
That's pretty neat. That's really neat. Based on some forum browsin', the only problem is you have to use the target cirlce. And as we all know, aiming a targeting circle in PVP is usually coupled with fail, as you're either standing still while you aim it or your running backwards useless or something like that. I'm sure they won't make it a direct target; that would be too easy.
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