Spell Variance Returning in Shadowlands

If they're gonna do this they may as well bring back DoT snapshotting.

I, for one, would welcome our new Affliction Warlock overlords.

This is a very minor change that will not have a major impact to anyone.



So expect a sea of criticism in 1...2...3...

Originally Posted by otaXephon

If they're gonna do this they may as well bring back DoT snapshotting.

I, for one, would welcome our new Affliction Warlock overlords.

No thanks

I really wish they would bring back weapon scaling on abilites and weapon speed back, made weapons far more interesting rather than the stat sticks they are now

Originally Posted by otaXephon

If they're gonna do this they may as well bring back DoT snapshotting.

I, for one, would welcome our new Affliction Warlock overlords.

Yes please! Separate the bads from the goods.

Like...fine, but why? Is this a thing for people who fill their screen with yellow numbers instead of watching the game?

Originally Posted by otaXephon

If they're gonna do this they may as well bring back DoT snapshotting.

I, for one, would welcome our new Affliction Warlock overlords.

Yes please! Would make DoT based classes interesting again.

Originally Posted by otaXephon

If they're gonna do this they may as well bring back DoT snapshotting.

I, for one, would welcome our new Affliction Warlock overlords.

Uhm, hasnt Affliction rained supreme the last couple expacs even without DoT snapshotting?

I frankly never noticed. Our characters are riddled with random procs, buffs and debuffs that I don't think Ive hit for the same number twice in a row in the last couple of years.

I love this, I love how much Blizz are doing to poke at the idea of "solving" the game and showing how silly it is. Calm down, play with friends, or solo. All three options are supported.

Originally Posted by Haidaes

I frankly never noticed. Our characters are riddled with random procs, buffs and debuffs that I don't think Ive hit for the same number twice in a row in the last couple of years.

Still have SoO PTSD from afflocks dominance.

Originally Posted by Makabreska

Still have SoO PTSD from afflocks dominance.

Not sure why you quoted me .

Doesn't matter much, so odd that they would go back and make this change that seemingly nobody was asking for.

If they make the variance too much, it brings too much RNG into the equation (Hello Infinite Stars) and people dislike it and if it is too little variance, it doesn't do anything.

Originally Posted by Demsi

I really wish they would bring back weapon scaling on abilites and weapon speed back, made weapons far more interesting rather than the stat sticks they are now

Weapon speed doesn't need to be a thing, it wasn't really that important.

Perfectly acceptable if they can get the balance right, but it's going to feel bad doing exactly the same thing as someone identical to you in every aspect but pulling out less DPS all because you got a string of bad RNG.

Originally Posted by Omedon

I love this, I love how much Blizz are doing to poke at the idea of "solving" the game and showing how silly it is. Calm down, play with friends, or solo. All three options are supported.

This does nothing of the sort. It's like auto attacking, it averages out to the point that even a min-maxer won't care. All that happens is that they need to determin a (statistical) median value that they need to use instead in their calculations, instead just directly loading the database value.

If I had to classify this change then I would call it pointless window dressing, so that they put another thing onto the "look how RPG we are" list.

Don't really see the point of this, but whatever. It doesn't affect anything.

Some of the takes on this thread are bizarre. 5% variance on a per-ability doesn't, in any way, make it easier or harder to "solve" the game. It has no impact on any meaningful content in terms of RNG. It's essentially a purely cosmetic change.

Not everything has to be about the current hot topic.

I don't like this. There is enough RNG already about random proccs lining or not lining up with your cooldowns.

Of the varied people I know that play RPGs, variance in numbers output has never been considered an integral part of an RPG. With respect to WoW, I generally see people wanting less variance in player output by control being more directly related to player input, not some RNG factor behind the scenes.

Also, averaging out to be negligible does not mean the effect won't be negligible. Blue post states "most non-periodic spells"... alright, which spells? What's the impact on specs that are mostly DoT/HoT oriented versus those with mostly direct damage abilities? What if you're a spec that relies on infrequent, large-damage direct spells? Over what duration of time is this supposed to be averaged to 'negligible'? Is there "bad luck protection" so you don't get constantly positive or negative background spell amplification? Why not apply this to all spells instead of just direct damage? To my first statement: who even asked for this and was it a problem having static values versus behind-the-scenes random damage variance? If the current system isn't broken or an issue, why 'fix' it?

I keep hearing Blizz repeat the mantra of making SL more like an RPG. However, I feel like Blizz keeps adding elements typical of single-player RPGs that don't necessarily translate well to an MMO. I'd rather have Blizz making game decisions based upon how fun/entertaining they are. When I think fun with a game, forgive me for not immediately thinking random damage values variance in the background. If I'm playing D&D, the variance in my damage output is fun because I feel like I am in direct control of it by rolling my dice... and that behavior doesn't translate well to WoW's combat system.