Class changes - is the game good again?

[Tiax]

Let me preface this by saying I left the game a while ago.

I don't want to retread ground that is been discussed ad-nauseum such as warrior problems. We all know the issues. WoW was incredible in its early forms, but the game was dumbed down in Lich King to almost the point of boredom.

I was primarily DPS, but, my healer friends (who also left) were adamant that healing was horridly simplistic.

I've been watching, albeit lightly, the information on how classes will change in Cataclysm. I'm pleased that they are dropping the "+x defense / +attack power" type stats and going with a more AD&D approach. Anyway, I haven't done an analysis on the deepness of the new class design.

The question: Is it worth returning to WoW after Cataclysm? Is the game deep again? Are warriors and other classes viable again?

I would appreciate feedback and insight.

[Rabblerouser88]

im just ecstatic for BM's glorious comeback.

[Nahte]

Really vague and subjective question, so I'll give a vague and subjective answer: It all kicks ass.

[Riboe]

Have it ever been bad...?

[Sledfang]

If you didnt Like Lich King, dont come back.

If you like WoW for the story, art, music, character, etc, then come back.

[Potato Bus]

Well, nothing finalized yet, and while things will be different, I'm sure some things will still be very similar. I'm not in the beta (grrrrrrr), so I'm sure someone who is could better answer your questions, but I'm excited for it. Buffs are being spread around to lessen the strain to include specific classes in groups for maximum potential, which will allow a bigger focus on bringing a player who is good and not just a class who has X buff.

And I'm happy that my mage is not necessarily going to be 1-shotted when I pull off tanks with the change to stamina levels. Should make PVP less burst-y and therefore more skill based. Fighting healers though...not looking forward to that...

Your healer friend may enjoy that they are attempting to make healing interesting (ie: not whack-a-mole on Grid/Healbot) by making mana a much larger concern.

[Ogawdithinkimguna HNNNG]

Idk what you're talking about Warriors are the most OP class since the beginning of WoW.

[destructo]

Warriors have been viable throughout much of lich king...and as said in most of the other threads like this: Play if you want to play.

[Tiax]

The artwork, zone, and raid design of Lich King was top notch...

... but classes were absolutely terrible. The game lost its deepness - in that fact you had to think to play. For me, there are two Blizzards: the excellent zone/quest/etc... Blizz and the the rather poor class designed Blizz.

It might be that I came from an AD&D background, but Lich King was boring - not the levels or bosses - playing the classes.

I hoping with the revamp that they are going more "Vanilla" and/or adding some depth of play.

Sorry for being vague.

[Deleted]

Don't come back.
/thread

[RickJamesLich]

Eh, I got mixed feelings with Cata, I liked Wow's earliest forms best, it was complicated, and there was A LOT to learn. With Cata, I got a good feeling PvP will be unbalanced for many patches to come - think about the problems with stuff like DK's, but now apply that to every class. Blizz has stated that they want most classes to scale with gear the way warriors do, now, they are trying to generalize rage generation, go figure lol. Seems like they can't make up their mind on many topics at all to be honest....

Beyond that, with the state that raids are in, everyone will have the same gear in a matter of weeks - fun for guys that are really bad or never had a chance to raid back in the old days, but makes things pretty boring after you figure you that once you got nothing but BiS gear, you see that everyone else has it as well. Same thing is happening to PvP gear wise, but also, rated BG's look like they are going to have a lot of problems as well.... organized BG's has never really been scrutinized before, so there's a very good chance we will see comps that are pretty OP, also, with horde usually having a much much higher population than alliance, it makes you wonder how bad the queues will be.

Can't say it's all bad tho, lots of new and interesting mechanics, but blizzard is getting lazy with some things, like giving ret pallys an interrupt - give them somethign more interesting, like an ability that removes hots, or one that slows the casting times of healing spells or something.

I got a good feeling that Cata will end up like Wotlk, you're racing around after every new patch for a month, then chilling in trade chat or contemplating leveling a new alt because you completed all the new content way too fast and easily.... until the next patch arrives.

[Nahte]

The artwork, zone, and raid design of Lich King was top notch...

... but classes were absolutely terrible. The game lost its deepness - in that fact you had to think to play. For me, there are two Blizzards: the excellent zone/quest/etc... Blizz and the the rather poor class designed Blizz.

It might be that I came from an AD&D background, but Lich King was boring - not the levels or bosses - playing the classes.

I hoping with the revamp that they are going more "Vanilla" and/or adding some depth of play.

Sorry for being vague.

I'd imagine it will be better, since they have DK's somewhat balanced and aren't forced to spend a lot of time and resources on it anymore.

[Tiax]

And I'm happy that my mage is not necessarily going to be 1-shotted when I pull off tanks with the change to stamina levels. Should make PVP less burst-y and therefore more skill based. Fighting healers though...not looking forward to that...

That sounds quite nice. Playing PvP was a warrior was miserable (unless you were Prot). When I left the game, I was primarily on my 80 rogue. PvP battlegrounds usually only had 1 warrior a piece (or none).

Your healer friend may enjoy that they are attempting to make healing interesting (ie: not whack-a-mole on Grid/Healbot) by making mana a much larger concern.

I saw the video on Wowhead. Maybe he'll come back. If I can remember his quote directly, it was something like: "Off to ICC. Made some coffee. I hope my finger doesn't get tired.". I think he thought he was George Jetson at work. :P

---------- Post added 2010-08-13 at 07:39 AM ----------

Eh, I got mixed feelings with Cata, I liked Wow's earliest forms best, it was complicated, and there was A LOT to learn.

That's what I loved - a thinking game. I wish it hadn't lost that aspect. Hmmmm... Aspect of Simplicity? I wonder which dragon has that one! :P

Blizz has stated that they want most classes to scale with gear the way warriors do, now, they are trying to generalize rage generation, go figure lol. Seems like they can't make up their mind on many topics at all to be honest....

Ah, the two Blizzards...

I got a good feeling that Cata will end up like Wotlk, you're racing around after every new patch for a month, then chilling in trade chat or contemplating leveling a new alt because you completed all the new content way too fast and easily.... until the next patch arrives.

/sigh

Sadly, I fear you are right.

[darkriver41]

If you like WoW for the story, art, music, character, etc, then come back.

For the first two tiers, because after that nobody will ever want to do anything but Deathwing's raid and require a GearScore higher than said raid's reccomended one in order to get in

Also, the game was complex in Classic because not even the designers knew what they were doing. Hence stuff like Storm Gauntlets, Bonebrace Hauberk, and half the dragons of nightmare loot table

[Strikesuit]

I don't mind that everyone has gear with the same stats. What I'd prefer is for Blizzard to differentiate. Having differently colored heroic gear is a good first step. For raiding differentiation, tier pieces requiring tokens should look much better. Bigger louder faster, etc. I'd also like it if Blizzard allowed for some personal customization. Would it kill them to allow us to dye our gear? With vendors for dyes, Blizzard could suck tons of gold out of the economy.

[Zookz25]

There are a couple main things that really made original WoW difficult of which can never we revoked:

(1) Third party sites are much more responsive and dedicated.

(2) The general knowledge of the playerbase has increased due to statement 1.

Most people don't really think much about this, but back in the day, most things about raiding were relatively vague (and as Blackriver said, even the devs were a bit "Uhm... okay, how about this!?" in many cases), whereas now you have places like tankspot that will have boss strats up before the patch is even out.

All and all, the game is not more simplistic, the devs have only gotten better, it's just the community is getting better right along side them, biting them in the ass.

For those who want a "thinker" boss, it will never really happen unless you avoid looking at any WoW related sites. The "thinker" portion will hopefully come from the new reforging/revised talents/major glyphs (medium glyphs).

We can't really say much till everything is finalized at release, and we sadly won't see anything about the new glyphs till they sort of the talent trees, so I just keep my hopes at the mid-ground for now.

[Zaz]

Cataclysm looks fantastic imo, I feel the exact same way about Wrath. But by the way Cataclysm looks I feel like Blizzard is trying its very best to mix TBC and Wrath together, customer satisfaction wise. With heroic modes and 10/25 mans sharing the same lock out, and with the large amount of 5-6 man raids that they will have all mixed together everyone is going to get to try new things without getting bored of the same old thing, like running ICC two times a week.

[markinthedark]

I've been watching, albeit lightly, the information on how classes will change in Cataclysm...Anyway, I haven't done an analysis on the deepness of the new class design...The question: Is it worth returning to WoW after Cataclysm? Is the game deep again? Are warriors and other classes viable again?

For me yes I will be coming back and most likely before cata ships, for you? I have no idea. I would suggest taking a much closer look at the info you have seen coming out and then starting a trial account when cata ships.

(also your post is a bit trollish...good luck with that)

[Tiax]

(also your post is a bit trollish...good luck with that)

Hey! I resent that! I'm a gnome! :-P

Sorry, it wasn't my intention to be trollish (or orcish, etc...).

[Zentack]

When was it good and when was it bad