Hey all,
as Patch 5.1 is getting nearer I fear that random threads might become prolific and many of them would cover basically the same points and issues, so I've taken the liberty to start this thread as a focus of our discussions. Copied from the Patch notes:
An additional bit that will affect our enchanting choices:Mage
- The damage buff from Arcane Charges has been increased from 22% to 24%.
- Rune of Power's duration now shows in the UI, and no longer has a cooldown (was 6 seconds).
- Ring of Frost now has a 45 second cooldown, up from 30 seconds, and can no longer affect more than 10 targets.
- The duration of Deep Freeze has been reduced to 4 seconds.
- Frost Bomb will now detonate after 6 seconds, up from 5 seconds). Detonation speed is still affected by haste.
- Mage Armor now reduces the duration of harmful Magic effects by 25%, down from 35%).
- The damage absorbed by Ice Barrier has been reduced by 25%.
- Combustion's periodic damage is now based only on the current Ignite, instead of both Ignite and Pyroblast. Damage has been increased to bring it up to approximately the same level as before.
- Blazing Speed may now be triggered after recieving damage in any amount.
- The mana cost of Spellsteal has been increased to 21% of base mana for Fire and Frost mages, up from 7%.
Water Elemental
(REMOVED) New Pet Ability: Water Jet. Water Jet channels a jet of frigid water at the target, dealing Frost damage over 4 seconds. Frostbolts cast by the pet's owner that hit the target while it is being blasted with icy water will grant a charge of Fingers of Frost. This ability has a 24 second cooldown (shared with Freeze) and a 1 second cast time.
Also a tiny bit that's significant for pvp:
- Come patch 5.1, Dancing Steel and Jade Spirit will be 2 Real PPM, River's Song will be 4 Real PPM, and Colossus will be 6 Real PPM
- A new banner will appear when a player is subjected to an effect that causes them to lose control of their character. The effect that caused the loss of control and remaining duration will be displayed. Configuration options are available in the “Combat” section of the “Interface Options" menu.
---------- Post added 2012-11-14 at 11:44 PM ----------
I'll also start off by saying that I'm overjoyed about the Arcane buff, while it's not a real fix as we've discussed in a separate thread, but I also agree with (I think) Soulstrike that the buff should be enough to bump us back up in the competitive race.
The Rune of Power change is good and I can assure you that Blizzard will never remove the cast time on it, because the cast time and standing in it is kind of the entire point of the spell.
The pvp nerfs sadden me as I didn't consider them to be that powerful, but if they're nerfing hunter and warrior burst, I can also live with the Ice Barrier nerf.
They finally decided to go with the Spellsteal change I've been dreading of since they originally announced it a long time ago and then changed their minds countless times.
The removed pet ability is something that's a great loss in my opinion because it could have provided a nice dose of stability to the Frost spec.
Ultimately, I'd rather currently not discuss the long gone Invocation change if it's not entirely necessary.