Additional Spec(s) for Each Class to Balance PvP

[Boogums]

POLL QUESTION: How do you feel about the idea of homogenizing class roles in PvP only (to keep it balanced) while keeping each class' abilities aesthetically different?

The poll is purely opinionated to gauge player reaction of one aspect of the idea. The thread itself is to discuss the idea posed.

(The reason the poll question is in the thread is because it was too long to fit in the actual Question part when creating the poll.)

My suggestion is to add an additional spec to each class (and for some 2) to help better balance PvP.

Someone made the suggestion on the official forums in response to one of Ghostcrawler's tweets: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/7200064625

I added my feedback to that thread as well: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/to...4625?page=2#32

I also agree with this idea.

It would definitely take "relearning" of the classes to get into what your "PvP" spec is all about, but that's a short term sacrifice for a long term reward. I say take it a step further. Give healers two extra specs, a PvP healing and a PvP DPS spec. You could then take these specs and make them unique from their PvE counterparts.

For example the mage is supposed to be all about the Arcane, and in most combat situations, they have to balance using all of their magical prowess to win, Arcane, Ice, and Fire. Build the PvP Mage spec to use a combination of Arcane, Ice and Fire spells in its every day damage dealing agenda.

Now, yes, you will be implementing an upwards of 17 - 18 new specs into the game, and this will be a lot of work, but us pvpers, we're patient enough, I mean, we've been dealing with the constant imbalances of PvP for almost 8 years now.

This seems like something that could be an amazing driving point for a future expansion, especially considering how much work would have to go into it, but at the end of the day, your mage and rogues will have their three specs they want to PvE in, and then that one spec that they know they can go to for PvP because of how much easier it would be to balance the spec.

You could even take a radical approach and almost homogenize a lot of the specs. I don't think players truly despise homogenization as long as its done correctly. Especially in PvP where players want to be as close to the same as possible anyway, in terms of skill vs. reward.

Making every healer class play the same in PvP, but being dramatically, aesthetically different isn't necessarily a bad thing. Now a healer doesn't have to worry about rerolling to another healing class because their healer is underpowered and the other healer is overpowered.

Your Death Knights don't have to feel like they have to reroll warrior because their survive-ability and burst aren't as good.

This also gives the players the option to PvP with whatever class they want, instead of what ever class they have to to be on top. I like the lore and aesthetics of a Death Knight, but I'm rerolling warrior so I can dominate in PvP until the next set of balance changes comes out that puts a different class on top.

Keeping resilience and PvP power in the game will assist with keeping PvE items out of arenas and battlegrounds, and will give everyone an equal footing. If someone is less skilled but more gear, you can still beat them because their class doesn't give them an additional advantage over you.

At least, that's my two cents. I'd love to see something like this implemented. it would be a lot easier to Balance three specs (melee dps, ranged dps, and healer) than 34, and with the right art assets for each class, players can still feel like their different enough from other classes while still performing the same.

What do you guys think of the idea (not the likeliness of Blizzard implementing it)?

[Matt0193]

While I usually disagree with GC, his reason is pretty much the reason it'll never happen. In Vanilla and BC, players were pretty much forced into certain specs on certain classes to even consider being viable, while certain specs were just god awful in PvE that they were widely considered to be "PvP specs". Probably one of the better known ones was Frost Mages. Outside of occasional damage bursts, they were terrible in PvE for the majority of Vanilla/BC. Alot of the talents revolved around things that couldn't affects bosses which made half the tree useless, however for PvP the spec was brilliant. The biggest problem however, was that it provided very little diversity. I'm all for trying anything to fix PvP, but sure this might fix PvP, but I guess a fairly large chunk of players would stop queuing because "their spec wasn't chosen as the pvp spec".

I know many Mages who find frost to be god awful to play, that it's so mind-numbing compared to Fire. However, now that Fire has been nerfed, most play Frost because it provides more than Fire does. Now what would happen if you told all of those players "I'm sorry, but if you want to PvP you can ONLY do it as Frost from now on"? Chances are, alot would stop PvPing. Sure, more might stay but it still causes the PvP community to split, which invariably leads to more whining on forums asking questions like "Well why can't X be the PvP spec? It's so much better than Y".

[Boogums]

Probably one of the better known ones was Frost Mages. Outside of occasional damage bursts, they were terrible in PvE for the majority of Vanilla/BC.

While I'm not attempting to derail the thread, and the above comment does not delegitimize your feedback, the above statement is false. Frost was THE PvE spec in Vanilla. Fire was the "lol gimmick pompyro" PvP spec.

I know many Mages who find frost to be god awful to play, that it's so mind-numbing compared to Fire. However, now that Fire has been nerfed, most play Frost because it provides more than Fire does. Now what would happen if you told all of those players "I'm sorry, but if you want to PvP you can ONLY do it as Frost from now on"? Chances are, alot would stop PvPing. Sure, more might stay but it still causes the PvP community to split, which invariably leads to more whining on forums asking questions like "Well why can't X be the PvP spec? It's so much better than Y".

The idea isn't to change one spec INTO the PvP spec, but to implement an ADDITIONAL spec that would be the PvP spec. So a Mage would have Arcane, Frost, Fire, and Battlecaster (or w/e); and Battlecaster would be the PvP spec. It would be implemented in a way where they can use any type of spell to PvP with to ensure the flavor of their class. (For example, you'd have Firebolt, Frostblast, and Arcane Ball, all function the exact same way, but aesthetically, capture the essence of a specialization).

---------- Post added 2013-01-07 at 11:24 PM ----------

Just some shitty ideas of specs that dev could implement.

Mage

• Ranged - Battlecaster - A powerful caster who doesn't let the heat of battle distract him from unleashing a devestating array of frost, fire, and arcane damage against his

Warlock

• Ranged - Harbinger - Heralds of death and destruction, Harbinger Warlocks call forth powerful demons and a mixture of chaotic shadow and destructive fire to defeat their foes in ground warfare.

Priest

• Healer - Combat Medic - Only the most disciplined and blessed priests are able to harness the powers of the Light to grant aid do their allies in the heat of battle.

• Ranged - Doomsayer - Callers of the end times, Doomsayers unleash the horrible darkness of the world back onto itself with devastating force.

Druid

• Melee - Military Animal - Concealed deep in the shadows, these druids disguise themselves as animals to pounce on unsuspecting enemies, slaying one after another before slipping back into their cover.

• Ranged - Preserver - For ever life, there must be death. Preserver druids uphold the balance of nature. Taking form as might Wildkin, these druids wield the powers of the stars and arcane to deal damage to their enemies.

• Healer - Ancient of Life - For every death, there must be life. Ancients of Life protect life with healing spells that gradually restore their ally's vitality over time.

Rogue

• Melee - Infiltrator - Armored to the teeth with an array of weapons, infiltrators sneak behind enemy lines and use a variety of kicks, stuns, and locks to dismantle their foes before slipping back into the shadows.

Monk

• Melee - Avatar of the Tiger - Blessed with the power of Xuen the White Tiger, these monks deploy their mastery of the martial arts to strike down their fiercest enemies.

• Healer - Avatar of the Serpent - Blessed with the power of Yu'lon, the Jade Serpent, these monks use the powers of the mist to bolster their allies in the heat of battle.

Hunter

• Ranged - Infantryman - Accompanied by their trusty beasts, Hunters who focus their attentions on infantry use their vast skill with ranged weapons to strike down their foes before they have the time to break their front lines.

Shaman

• Healer - Cleansing - Cleansing shamans harness the powers of water to restore health to their allies.

• Ranged - Destructive - Destructive shamans harness the powers of fire and lightning to strike their enemies down.

• Melee - Imbued - The combination of elements and martial prowess is deadly. Imbued shaman harness the powers of the elements to increase the lethal damage their weapons deal in combat.

Warrior

• Melee - Warmonger - They say that death is all a warrior will ever know. Warmongers embrace this fate and with a cunning combination of skill and brutality, they harness their rage into deadly attacks, using any weapon at their disposal to kill their enemies.

Death Knight

• Melee - War - Blood, Frost, Unholy. These are the runes a War Death Knight uses to defeat their foes. Empowered by the Lich King himself, and rallied under their leaders, these Death Knights know only War.

Paladin

• Melee - Crusader - Crusaders use the power of the Holy light to smite their foes and deliver quick retribution to their enemies.

• Healer - Diviner - Diviners use the power of the Holy light to mend the wounds of their allies, keeping them going until none of their enemies stand in their way.