I was thinking more back in Wrath. Talking about how spells worked back in Vanilla is a bit pointless since there was quite a bit of stupid shit back then. Maybe we should talk about Amp/Damp Magic or Reveal Magic or whatever that spell was called. Hell, even Amp/Damp had uses once in a Blue Moon. This is a pretty weak argument either way.
This spell was wonderful. It have the best graphic animation (..) oops, it wasn't animated.
It have the best game-play : absorbe damage but make you OoM and it even give you a damage's boost with Incanter's Absorption.
But I can't do damage if not have mana.
I just loved it in my spell book ...
Having a different opinion than you is hardly "aggressing". It could easily be argued that over use of smiley faces is becoming tiresome. You didn't specify that you were referring to Vanilla in the post I quoted. Since the relevance of this spell was almost exclusively in Wrath, that was naturally where I went.
To be fair...the guy I quoted said NT is the second worst mage spell ever made. Citing Mana Shield implies more of the time it was introduced, aka invented, rather than when it became powerful/useful. Even then, it only took 2.5 whole expansions to make the spell useful.
BfA Beta Time
Yeah, Detect Magic was quite amazing in those days, but there isn't use for it anymore, which is why they removed it. In any case, enough derailment. Just because they're keeping an eye on things, doesn't mean you should expect a nerf. If NT is turning Mages into a multi-DoT class, then they will shift numbers to bring it back to being all about the nukes. Try not to tear the Berlin Wall down on any news of a possible change.
BfA Beta Time
Recent history would suggest that there is probably something already in the works here. I think it is actually reasonable to expect a nerf. But, like you said, they will likely shift numbers so there isn't an overall class nerf. I don't believe we are in a position where an overall nerf to dps is warranted.
Honestly, I hope they remove NT or remake it. It's really really not feeling good as an arcane mage, when everything is supposed to be nukes or waves of missiles who hit like a truck in an instant.
It's also about bloody time they make arcane viable in serious pvp. I really want to see radical changes. It feels that they don't want to scrap the idea of the mastery, but... it just does not work. They really need to remake arcane from the scratch with a solid new theme.
Actually...the introduction of actual PvP in WoW IS what brought balance and fixed many classes. Does anyone remember Priest racials for one? Balance in this game was GOD AWFUL prior to the introduction of arenas, and it has actually gotten better since then. The problem is many people who post on forums don't actually have the width of vision to see how things were and how they are now.
BfA Beta Time