Shiny new talents or a step backwards in character design?

[Kilpi]

The funny thing is currently the 1-2 talent options you have in almost every single spec does make you more unique now. Every single spec has at least 1 talent option where they can choose any sort of utility or pvp type talent (blizzard calls them 'fun' talents) that you can pick and won't effect your dps/tanking/healing at all. This is good for the game, not having stupid talents that are required and forcing everyone into the exact same spec to optimize dps/tanking/healing. The new system allows you to be unique while still viable, unlike the old.

Tbh in most trees after the tier 1 (or tier 2) most of the talents are more "fun" in general. After that many of the tiers have at least one multipoint talent that does even a slightly more than just add X% of effectivenes on certain spell.

[deevicoos]

There was no choice in the previous setup of glyphing, just the illusion of it, when in reality you either took a cookie cutter or played sub optimally. You had maybe one or two very minor choices to suit your playstyle for some specs but they were minor.

The present system gives us some choice over major glyphs and those last few talents. While the choices are limited they are now realy, you can choose between 2 or 3 talents all of which are situational, and grab the one you think will work for you most often or have the biggest effect when it does. And you can glyph for whatever you want.

Basically they cannot give us big decisions unless they are all equal, and really that's what each tree is for. Only one tree in the ENTIRE GAME is supposed to have 2 playstyles (not counting Pvp ofc) so by giving us choices which don't affect the function(s)* we're supposed to maximise allows us to actually decide based on preference.

[Kilpi]

The present system gives us some choice over major glyphs .... And you can glyph for whatever you want.

Works for major glyphs but I'm a bit disappointed when it comes to Prime Glyphs. For example prot warriors have exactly 3 glyphs for them. But I don't get too bothered by that so I'm not complaining

[ComputerNerd]

We are just not seeing this variety of choice that these new trees were supossed to deliver.
If lucky you will see perhaps 5 points to play with, and thats usually when you have to pick between two very good talents, where losing either is likely a dps or utility loss.
While I agree largely with the stated intent, they have fallen rather short of it.

[WReck]

3 cheers for activision and all the "improvements" to wow sense they bought blizzard

[The Glitch]

I disliked the new talent trees when they first introduced them to Beta, but since playing with them for almost 5 months now, you get used to them just like everything over time. I actually like that they got rid of all those talents that didn't do anything other than boost damage, where was the fun in those? Or some talents that just didn't plain make sense for your spec. Sure it's alot easier now for people to not make bad choices when talenting, but I think that's a good thing.

Not everyone starts playing WoW with the knowledge that most players who have played for years have. It makes it less complicated for those people so they can actually play the game instead of spending hours trying to work out what they should be talenting for.

You also now get all the good stuff and can spend a few points on the fun talents too without gimping your dps/heals/tanking.

I like them I'm sure once you've played with them for a few months you'll get used to them too and wonder why you disliked them in the first place

[Siika]

Off topic, compare new ones with vanilla talent trees.
We've come a long way.

[The Glitch]

Off topic, compare new ones with vanilla talent trees.
We've come a long way.

Hahah oh god that brought back some memories I fondly remember my melee moonkin days getting OOC to proc .. joy joy Yes we have come a long way. Thank god! ...or well Blizzard !

[Variables]

The idea for cata was to remove +dmg type talents allowing you to choose more flavour talents that are "fun" without feeling like you're passing up on the necessary +dmg talents... I'm not really sure they accomplished this.

[xxAkirhaxx]

They monkey safe. I think its impossible to even make a spec that is bad.
Same with glyphs.. there isnt any real choice there, its simply pick these and put them in. I mean whats the point in having the trees if there isnt actually any choices made :P may aswell select the class on character creation and have the package.

I seem to remember when they introduced talent trees to wow, they were advertised as an aspect of the game to make your character more unique compared to another character of the same class and to add a more immersive element to the gameplay.
I feel they have almost completely removed that.

Am I alone here? I mean one of the things I enjoyed about WoW was the decision making in how you spec your char to get the best performance from it you can. To me it seems they have made a cookie cutter spec for us and there is no way around it to choose differently.

They have created a system now where depending on your talent spec you are vastly different from another spec. Just look at druids for an obvious example.

In vanilla specs were different, yes, but most were not viable. For instances druids had a cat dps spec, and they did have a balance spec, but if you weren't healing a rogue or a mage could fill your dps spot and do it much better.

I think what you're trying to get at though is that talent tree's feel too pigeon holed, as in "You must do this, this, and this to get the most of this." While this may be true, it's something that is hard to avoid. As a group/raid/ leader group/raid member it isn't often enjoyable to play with someone who isn't pulling there weight in the run, leaving slack for the others to pick up.

So while it may have been fun in BC to run a Shockadin, or in WoTLK to run some sort of Mut/Sub hybrid, it's not going to give you optimal DPS. It may be more fun but if you want to play fun with others who are similarly minded you probably won't be clearing the tougher content. If you want to clear the tough content, you're going to pigeon hole your spec for optimization.