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Jider from Impervious (US-Stormreaver) is back with another video! After his solo kill of Patchwerk in 25-man Naxxramas, he decided it would be fun to take down Grobbulus as well!
Description from the Youtube video
Right away you will notice similarities to my strategy for killing Patchwerk. The initial pull spot is at his the end of his patrol path to maximize the time I have for evade-mode intercepts after a Vanish. To eliminate physical damage from the encounter I only engage in melee range when Evasion is up and use Dig Rats and Shadowstep to kite while waiting for the cooldown. Dig Rat placement is critical as I need both locations to ensure the proper kiting path.
In addition to physical damage, Grobbulus has a few abilities that I had to account for, most notably Slime Spray. Not only does this ability do significant damage in a frontal cone, if it hits a player it will spawn a Fallout Slime which would guarantee a wipe. The Slimes are extremely dangerous due to their ability to inflict damage and the difficulties of kiting multiple mobs that move at different speeds. The method I use to counter this relies on the fact that Grobbulus will never cast Slime Spray for at least 23 seconds after the pull or a Vanish. So, in addition to only engaging with Evasion I also only engage immediately after a Vanish which will let me attack for the full duration without having to worry about Slime Spray.
With the strategy set, the rest of the fight again becomes an exercise in repetition with one very important detail. The kiting path for Grobbulus is very limited due to his leash point at the front of the room and keeping him at greater than 45 yards to stay out of range of Slime Spray. Through trial and error I was able to determine the correct timings to keep him bouncing back and forth inside his room for the duration of the fight (2 hours 45 minutes).
Blue posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Level 85 Heirlooms (Source)
Note that there will be level 85 heirlooms that will not stop working at 80. However, you'll have to get at least one character to 85 to purchase them.
What incentive, aside from a short leveling burst, will there be to get 1-85 heirlooms?
There may not be a ton of incentive if you have a full wardrobe of heirlooms already. We will be making new kinds of heirlooms though, including some new slots. Many players also reach a point where they can't find anything else to spend badges on, so heirlooms look more attractive then. (Source)
If they are only 80-85, they will be very unlikely to get used by anyone, unless they hit the "point cap" for the points used to purchase them and they have a raid to go to.
They will be 1-85.
Wrath of the Lich King Heirlooms
The experience bonus will stop working. It's also possible they will no longer grow in stats above level 80, but you can probably still equip them. (Source)
Pre-85 Class balance in Cataclysm
We're not super worried about class balance below 85 once Cataclysm ships. There will be a short period where things might feel really chaotic as everyone (including us) gets used to new mechanics, talent trees and stat allocation. Losing any current spells is just going to be the tip of that iceberg. Fortunately, we don't think classes need to be balanced on a razor's edge for that period. Any gear you score in that window probably won't last very long once you start leveling again. (Source)
Armor downgrading in Cataclysm
You will get a stat bonus of some kind if you wear "your" armor. You can still wear cloth, mail or leather of a lower armor type if it's a big upgrade, especially if it would get sharded anyway. But the days of Holy paladins in cloth or warrior wearing leather are probably behind us. (Source)
1-Handed weapons in Cataclysm (Source)
There will be Strength, Agi and Int one-handers in Cataclysm.
I was more asking if we will have any strength one handers in 4.0 before Cataclysm hits.
There will be that strange and wonderful period in between changing over the classes but before the world changes. That is always an interesting time, but balance will have to be adjusted in so many different ways that we're not too worried about what will happen if Str one-handers do or don't exist. You'll probably replace any level 80 items long before balance really matters again. (Source)
Will there still be tank weapons since Defense as a stat is going away?
We will still make weapons with Stamina and perhaps hit on them. They may not be as valuable as tanking weapons are today without defense, but that's probably not a bad thing. We won't make a ton of them in any case since half the tank classes don't want them. (Source)
Will there be int one handers with spirit on them? I like swords.
There will be healer weapons, but those are unlikely to be swords since 3 healing classes can't use them. Mages and locks will have no need for Spirit.
Currently holy paladins have the option of wielding a caster mace or sword. Why don't they itemize a 2handed healing mace (usable by everyone except priests) or allow them to wield 1 handed daggers?
The intent is that Holy paladins use a mace and shield to heal. There may be occasional more unusual weapons -- we made a spellpower fist in Naxxramas for instance.
Loot design
There's a bit of art to the design. On one extreme, you make weapons for each unique spec -- Frost and Fire mages might want different weapons. On the other extreme, you make say 4 types of weapons (as we often do with trinkets) and make them usable by lots of characters. It comes down to there being a sweet spot to loot design (and I don't pretend we always nail it), where you can be lucky or unlucky or you can want an item for which there is lots of competition or an item which nobody else but you really wants. If loot is too predictable then it gets boring and if it's too random then it gets frustrating. (Source)
Are daggers the only fast weapons in Cataclysm?
That's something we have discussed (only fast daggers), but the valuation of weapon speed is heavily tied into combat mechanics and those might still change. For example, we've been considering that nasty ICD on Windfury weapon again.... (Source)
Weapon Speed
There are definitely times we talk about just doing away with weapon speed. We ultimately don't want to though because we have precious few ways to make one item distinct from another as it is. We're cool if there is a certain weapon speed that you really want because that can mean certain items are particularly desired. It's only a problem when a 0.1 change in weapon speed can trump an entire tier of extra stats, which can definitely happen. (Source)
Hunter (Forums / 3.3.5 Talent Calculator)
Trap Launcher
Trap Launcher is replacing Freezing Arrow. The functionality is so similar that there is little reason to have both. (Source)
Spells training level
The levels at which you get certain spells are changing, in some cases dramatically. At the moment our design is that Trap Launcher is introduced at lower levels than 80-85. (Source)
Note that there will be level 85 heirlooms that will not stop working at 80. However, you'll have to get at least one character to 85 to purchase them.
What incentive, aside from a short leveling burst, will there be to get 1-85 heirlooms?
There may not be a ton of incentive if you have a full wardrobe of heirlooms already. We will be making new kinds of heirlooms though, including some new slots. Many players also reach a point where they can't find anything else to spend badges on, so heirlooms look more attractive then. (Source)
If they are only 80-85, they will be very unlikely to get used by anyone, unless they hit the "point cap" for the points used to purchase them and they have a raid to go to.
They will be 1-85.
Wrath of the Lich King Heirlooms
The experience bonus will stop working. It's also possible they will no longer grow in stats above level 80, but you can probably still equip them. (Source)
Pre-85 Class balance in Cataclysm
We're not super worried about class balance below 85 once Cataclysm ships. There will be a short period where things might feel really chaotic as everyone (including us) gets used to new mechanics, talent trees and stat allocation. Losing any current spells is just going to be the tip of that iceberg. Fortunately, we don't think classes need to be balanced on a razor's edge for that period. Any gear you score in that window probably won't last very long once you start leveling again. (Source)
Armor downgrading in Cataclysm
You will get a stat bonus of some kind if you wear "your" armor. You can still wear cloth, mail or leather of a lower armor type if it's a big upgrade, especially if it would get sharded anyway. But the days of Holy paladins in cloth or warrior wearing leather are probably behind us. (Source)
1-Handed weapons in Cataclysm (Source)
There will be Strength, Agi and Int one-handers in Cataclysm.
I was more asking if we will have any strength one handers in 4.0 before Cataclysm hits.
There will be that strange and wonderful period in between changing over the classes but before the world changes. That is always an interesting time, but balance will have to be adjusted in so many different ways that we're not too worried about what will happen if Str one-handers do or don't exist. You'll probably replace any level 80 items long before balance really matters again. (Source)
Will there still be tank weapons since Defense as a stat is going away?
We will still make weapons with Stamina and perhaps hit on them. They may not be as valuable as tanking weapons are today without defense, but that's probably not a bad thing. We won't make a ton of them in any case since half the tank classes don't want them. (Source)
Will there be int one handers with spirit on them? I like swords.
There will be healer weapons, but those are unlikely to be swords since 3 healing classes can't use them. Mages and locks will have no need for Spirit.
Currently holy paladins have the option of wielding a caster mace or sword. Why don't they itemize a 2handed healing mace (usable by everyone except priests) or allow them to wield 1 handed daggers?
The intent is that Holy paladins use a mace and shield to heal. There may be occasional more unusual weapons -- we made a spellpower fist in Naxxramas for instance.
Loot design
There's a bit of art to the design. On one extreme, you make weapons for each unique spec -- Frost and Fire mages might want different weapons. On the other extreme, you make say 4 types of weapons (as we often do with trinkets) and make them usable by lots of characters. It comes down to there being a sweet spot to loot design (and I don't pretend we always nail it), where you can be lucky or unlucky or you can want an item for which there is lots of competition or an item which nobody else but you really wants. If loot is too predictable then it gets boring and if it's too random then it gets frustrating. (Source)
Are daggers the only fast weapons in Cataclysm?
That's something we have discussed (only fast daggers), but the valuation of weapon speed is heavily tied into combat mechanics and those might still change. For example, we've been considering that nasty ICD on Windfury weapon again.... (Source)
Weapon Speed
There are definitely times we talk about just doing away with weapon speed. We ultimately don't want to though because we have precious few ways to make one item distinct from another as it is. We're cool if there is a certain weapon speed that you really want because that can mean certain items are particularly desired. It's only a problem when a 0.1 change in weapon speed can trump an entire tier of extra stats, which can definitely happen. (Source)
Hunter (Forums / 3.3.5 Talent Calculator)Trap Launcher
Trap Launcher is replacing Freezing Arrow. The functionality is so similar that there is little reason to have both. (Source)
Spells training level
The levels at which you get certain spells are changing, in some cases dramatically. At the moment our design is that Trap Launcher is introduced at lower levels than 80-85. (Source)
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