World of Whorecraft: Battle for Asseroth

[Hobo Elf]

How do you justify giving Ashbringer to every paladin?

Do they need to? What's the problem with people having their own Ashbringer anyways? Is it lore breaking? It became lore breaking the moment there were two people on the same server with an Ashbringer, so does it matter if they give it to even more people? All they are doing here is giving people what they always wanted, plus people will have at least some choice as to what their weapons will look like. And expect to see even more forms be added later as well.

 

[Keshik]

I wonder if Death Knights get a Frostmourne looking thing.

Yeah they have to go collect the shards from ICC (Why the Argent Crusade guys left those dangerous things there, who knows ) and then can make 2 1H swords, they said. Don't quite have the Frostmourne look though.

I'll play it, always get a good experience levelling with my buddies and I've enjoyed the levelling more often than not.

 

[Metro]

Some of this is hilarious. New class... with only two specs! NEW FEATURE: ARTIFACTS aka the old fleshed out talent tree system we used to have several expansions ago before they gutted it!

 

[Metro]

Wait wait wait... Illidan? Really? Really? I can't imagine the abomination this game is going to be in another five years.

 

[Hoaxmetal]

New class... with only two specs!

We need another tank/healer/dps ?

Anyway, yeah, after WoD I just don't believe that this one will be worth 40 euros + subscription.

 

[Ulminati]

SWTOR killed WoW.

Looked through the full presentation.
Class-specific stories taken from SWTOR
Class-specific companions taken from SWTOR

Ok, now that's out of the way....

New continent looks 'k. I'm a sucker for faux vikings, so that's good. It looks a lot less disco infernoy than burning crusade, which was what I was afraid we'd be getting. And we get to genocide a new race of elves which is a plus.
Dungeons and raids... well, 10 dungeons could be 'k. But it really depends on whether they'll actually be challenging or banal like the WoD ones. Raiding in the emerald dream has been requested since vanilla so good they finally did that.
Dalaran being back and every non-DK class getting an analogue to the Necropolis sound slike garrisons are gone and good fucking riddance.

Demonhunter class... Could be good, could be bad. Dunno. I like that there's a tankspec. Also, why did they only show blood/night elf models. If it's going to be an elf-exclusive class because illidan, I'm gonna be sad. Gib giant demoncow please. I'll probably roll one regardless.

Artifact weapons.... At first I was a bit bummed that we'd have a billion assbringer retardins everywhere. But I'm warming up to the idea of being able to unlock and customize your weapon with the talent tree thing. Going to want to know how we get the artifact power xp to level it up, but I can live with there being no weapon drops in return for customizing my kit. Especially since the frost DK swords get the ability to raise yourself in combat. >:3

Also, it sounds like a lot of the staple characters are going to be murdered dead in this one, what with Jaina being out of Dalaran, Thralls weapon going to enhancement shammies etc.

The big one for me was the honor system overhaul with a new talent tree for PvP. I rather like it so far, but I'd like to see what kind of abilities it'll have and how powerful they'll be. I like that you unlock every tier fast, then get alternate options as you go. I think PvP is most fun when both players are on a roughly even power level. The difference between PvE and PvP gear is huge in WoD, with me being able to chunk half a PvE players HP bar in one hit if I line all my self-buffs up.

All in all, I think it's the best (least worst?) we could expect from Blizzard given that they're compelled to make every subsequent adventure a little more epic than the last. At least the garrisons are gone and it sounds like we might have mor customization options. If they manage to make the dungeons challenging on top of that, i'm in.

 

[Metro]

We need another tank/healer/dps ?

It's more of the fact that there's ONLY two specs. Not one tank and two DPS specs. Might as well remove specs for rogues, hunters, mages, and warlocks. That they couldn't create a second DPS spec is further proof of their laziness. Most developers in the history of the game and the solution is to simply cut content.

Who am I kidding... they couldn't even come up with a proper title.

LEGION

Next one will be SCOURGE!

Followed by: BAD THINGS!

 

[Caim]

Yeah they have to go collect the shards from ICC (Why the Argent Crusade guys left those dangerous things there, who knows ) and then can make 2 1H swords, they said. Don't quite have the Frostmourne look though.

I'll play it, always get a good experience levelling with my buddies and I've enjoyed the levelling more often than not.

Well shit, no 2hander.

And I still kinda want Shadowmourne for my Death Knight, but doing ICC on your own (or even in a group) to get it is several flavors of ass.

 

[Ulminati]

Oh yeah, the presentation is here:


Starts at ~30 min
New continent overview at ~45 min
Artifacts at ~60 min
Class orders at ~1h13m
Dungeons and raids at 1h19m
Demon hunter at 1h29m
New PvP at 1h38m

Well shit, no 2hander.

And I still kinda want Shadowmourne for my Death Knight, but doing ICC on your own (or even in a group) to get it is several flavors of ass.

There's an artifact for each spec of each clas saccording to the presentation. Only frost DKs get 2 small swords. Either blood or unholy will probably get a 2hander.

 

[Metro]

Can I pay with WoW gold?

 

[Metro]

 

[Zed]

They definitely needed the new class to draw in players. Even if it's a gimp "hero class" á la Death Knight (and this one only having two specs).

The environments seem alright.

The lore/story is so fucked up that I don't care anymore. Could be some cool characters.

Bigger emphasis on dungeons (quantity and replayability) sounds good. Raids were the one good thing about Dreanor (although I barely raided), so it's alright if they use the same mold for that.

Stuff they didn't even mention: professions, weapons (like, you're not gonna use any weapon beside the legendary you pick up at the start?), new class abilities (outside of demon hunter), and of course flying.

 

[Ulminati]

No flying please. Soon as everyone flies a circuit to do their dailies, open pvp ends.

 

[Metro]

They probably lost a million or so subs over flying. There will be flying. They aren't stupid.

 

[Zetor]

I don't think open pvp in its current state is worth saving -- not that it was ever anything more than 90+% aggravation and time-wasting with less than 10% occasional adrenaline-rush moments of brilliance / fun. May have just been my server though. Crushridge, Home of Mediocre Zergs and Lopsided World PVP since 2004!

 

[Metro]

Recycling Dalaran is pretty funny, too. Although I admit it was the best hub city.

 

[Maculo]

The PVP talents seems interesting. I guess the PVP and PVE development teams can work separately now.

Also, my demonology warlock definitely got blown the fuck out. Demon Hunters seem like a superior rogue/demonology warlock.

 

[J1M]

The PVP overhaul is certainly a good thing for the people who like that. As someone who is more interested in the group dynamics, it sounds like more of the same. I was really hoping for something to shake up the feel of grouping. The lack of significant changes in that area means the PVE is going to rely 100% on dungeon/raid design and difficulty.

Also, looks like they may finally make good on their promise of a moose mount (@1:03):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6CWue7voA0

 

[Maculo]

How would you change the group dynamic? Do you mean alternative routes of progression via world content, scenarios, etc?

 

[J1M]

How would you change the group dynamic? Do you mean alternative routes of progression via world content, scenarios, etc?

I'm talking about the moment-to-moment gameplay in a group. In vanilla you had a tank, a healer, 2 dps, and a hybrid that could offtank/offheal based on circumstance. It has been 1 tank / 1 healer / 3 dps for a long time.

Some examples:
-Add a 4th role to the holy trinity.

-Adjust the ratios expected for the 3 roles in a raid. That could mean the emerald dream raid only requires one tank or that individual fights require zero healers, etc.

-Create greater differentiation between the type of utility each class can bring to a raid. There isn't really a practical difference between taking a warrior/rogue/monk for dps. You used to desire a shaman for bloodlust. Now several classes can offer it, so it isn't special. There are very few abilities left that allow a player to do something special. Most are purposefully disallowed in raid fights. Example: gorefiend's grasp, leap of faith.

-Up the group size to 6 people to better reflect the portion of people who would prefer to play dps (allow 4 dps)

 

[Rivmusique]

I've not even played WoD yet and I planned too. Oh well, blizz announce to release is always quite long IIRC.

Would like to try Demon Hunter, but it's so hard to give up a heal/dps/tank class for one with less options.

 

[Metro]

I'm talking about the moment-to-moment gameplay in a group. In vanilla you had a tank, a healer, 2 dps, and a hybrid that could offtank/offheal based on circumstance. It has been 1 tank / 1 healer / 3 dps for a long time.

Some examples:
-Add a 4th role to the holy trinity.

-Adjust the ratios expected for the 3 roles in a raid. That could mean the emerald dream raid only requires one tank or that individual fights require zero healers, etc.

-Create greater differentiation between the type of utility each class can bring to a raid. There isn't really a practical difference between taking a warrior/rogue/monk for dps. You used to desire a shaman for bloodlust. Now several classes can offer it, so it isn't special. There are very few abilities left that allow a player to do something special. Most are purposefully disallowed in raid fights. Example: gorefiend's grasp, leap of faith.

-Up the group size to 6 people to better reflect the portion of people who would prefer to play dps (allow 4 dps)

Holy trinity for lyf. Fuck DPS. They pandered to them with shitty scenarios and fortunately those were left to die in MoP. And they'll never 'un-homogenize' the classes. Too many butthurt people complained about dungeons like Shattered Halls and Magister's Terrace. Never mind those could be done with Arms/Fury warriors, Shadow Priests, and other 'non traditional' DPS. It's just people were too dumb/uncreative to do anything but sheep.

 

[Zetor]

I've played a healer/tank for most of WOW's life (well, mained a warlock in vanilla and half of BC), and honestly, the "tank problem" (and to a lesser extent, the "healer problem") stems from the fact that most players are reluctant to take up roles that require some measure of leadership or a modicum of responsibility. This problem was sort of suppressed in WOTLK where most dungeon content was so easy that tanks turned into basically near-invincible AOE DPS monsters that could just AOE everything without needing to worry about stuff. In the new xpac they're adding a class that only has a 'tank spec' and a 'dps spec', but I don't think this will suddenly result in an influx of new tanks.

As for adding new roles / shaking up the trinity: there have been examples of this in many games, but none of them were particularly convincing to me. RIFT almost pulls it off with a dedicated 'support' role in each dungeon, but in practice it just ends up as a DPS role that has a lot of auras and group buffs... or maybe a healer role with good damage output (think disc priest on steroids). LOTRO (pre-review) loremasters and captains are also examples of these two support types, but every class is (was?) a hybrid in that game. You CAN do something like EQ and have classes whose main purpose is to support other characters, but I don't know anyone who liked a mana-battery necro. Ditto innervate bots in vanilla WOW.

What I'd like is a dedicated CC/debuffer class (enchanter/illusionist was always my thing in EQ, and I loved playing controller in COH). Warlocks aren't really it, though, and there's a massive dislike for crowd control among the WOW playerbase in general, both in pve and pvp.

 

[Ulminati]

What I'd like is a dedicated CC/debuffer class (enchanter/illusionist was always my thing in EQ, and I loved playing controller in COH). Warlocks aren't really it, though, and there's a massive dislike for crowd control among the WOW playerbase in general, both in pve and pvp.

City of Villains had the Dominator (Controller on blueside), whose main job was to lay down CC that most other classes lacked. The corruptor was a hybrid buffer/debuffer with a side of dps and heals. Most classes could stockpile inspirations to self-heal, so there wasn't a dedicated healer class outside the raids. And for those, the corruptor would usually suffice.


And yeah. I PvP as a death knight. I have a trinket, a skill and a talent (all on a ~2m cooldown) to break CC and I still get kited all day by spammable roots. Being rooted usually means the healer I was trying to murder gets to run circles around an arena pillar, spamming self-heals back to full health. Fuck that shit.

 

[Zetor]

City of Villains had the Dominator (Controller on blueside), whose main job was to lay down CC that most other classes lacked. The corruptor was a hybrid buffer/debuffer with a side of dps and heals. Most classes could stockpile inspirations to self-heal, so there wasn't a dedicated healer class.

Well, that's what I meant by 'loved playing controller in COH'. :p

Defenders in COH weren't really a support class either. My rad/sonic defender was pretty much a nuker that made its targets easier to hit/damage for others as well, with a few extra buttons that really increased the power of the group / decreased the effectiveness of the enemies. Sure, you could play it by autofollowing on someone and putting Radiant Aura (pbaoe heal) on autocast... but that's the equivalent of a WOW prot warrior that does nothing except spam thunderclap on cooldown.