Sorry for venting my spleen here, as I'm sure this has come up ump-teen times since 2.4 found its way onto the PTR.
Did the changes to gear (specifically a lot of the better quest rewards and instance drops levels 58-69) intended to improve Ret DPS actually hurt the class overall?
Prior to the patch... a lot of the pre-70 Pally gear in outland was statted for general utility. It had stats that benefitted pretty much any build in one way or another.
In the patch, a number of blue quest rewards and instance drops had Healing/Spell Damage replaced with strength. This includes Leonine Breastplate, X-52 Technician's Helm, Ornate Boots of the Sanctified, Azureplate Greaves... probably about 60% of Rare quality BoP Pally gear in Outland.
Strength doesnt benefit me (63 Holy & 70 Holy) near as much as +Healing and/or Damge would... and having discussed itemization with my 70 Prot Pally friend, he's in the same boat (prefering Spell Damage).
So, while I fully support gear improvements for Ret, and think it makes sense to trade some spell damage for strength on gear in this level range, since Ret is so commonly used as a levelling build, I am of the opinion that this re-calibrating of 'Pally' gear was handled in a terribly heavyhanded manner, and puts the other two builds in a big hole gear wise. Its as if Blizz is saying that they dont want Ret Pallies to have to wear 'Warrior' gear anymore... but in so doing they force the other two specs to shoulder the burden of having to assemble strange hodge-podges of mix-n-match gear. Being Holy, I dont mind mixing in some cloth or leather... but I have no idea what Prot are supposed to do to balance survivability and spell damage stats when finding both qualities on gear is next to impossible now. Considering how tough it can be to find a tank or healer when you need one, that's a bit of a head-scratcher.
I am of the opinion that (while it still wouldnt thrill me) it would have been FAR better for the Paladin community as a whole (if I may be so bold as to speak on everyone's behalf... :)) if they made these changes more moderately on at least a handful of the items... perhaps reduce the bonus healing/damage by half and increase the Str by a relative amount.
Edited, Apr 22nd 2008 1:53pm by soobooboo
- Forums
- World of Warcraft
- Class Discussion
- +Heal/Dmg Replaced w/ Str... (/vent)
+Heal/Dmg Replaced w/ Str... (/vent)Follow
Ret gear used to be pretty good Holy Paladin gear at the pre-70 levels. Now, it isn't.
I wouldn't sweat it. It seems like Blizzard has taken to the advice of the masses. In general, people will advise you to level as Ret, and then swap over in your mid-late 60s to whatever spec you want. The changes made in 2.4 directly accomodate that mentality, and make it much better for those people.
Of course, the people who level as Holy suffer a bit from it. Nothing too huge, but they do suffer. You just can't use those items in your healing set anymore. There are other items out there, so don't worry about it too much.
I wouldn't sweat it. It seems like Blizzard has taken to the advice of the masses. In general, people will advise you to level as Ret, and then swap over in your mid-late 60s to whatever spec you want. The changes made in 2.4 directly accomodate that mentality, and make it much better for those people.
Of course, the people who level as Holy suffer a bit from it. Nothing too huge, but they do suffer. You just can't use those items in your healing set anymore. There are other items out there, so don't worry about it too much.
Quote:
Of course, the people who level as Holy suffer a bit from it. Nothing too huge, but they do suffer. You just can't use those items in your healing set anymore. There are other items out there, so don't worry about it too much.
No, youre right... definately not the end of the world. The gear I want/need is still there waiting for me at the end of the road. This just makes a lot of the next 5-7 levels a bit tougher, as I dont think these items would really work out too well in a Holy 'DPS/Soloing' set either.
well, i have 4/5 Veng Ret set, et al. i am spec'd Prot atm. if i had to sit in QD for an hour grinding dailies in my tank set, i'd poke my eyes out. my Ret gear, though not as productive as when i was spec'd for it, still makes for a great soloing set.
im not sure how this ultimatly fits into a 'Holy solo' set. but sometimes you need to work around what you're designed for. besides, what happened to the Gladiator Shockadin set?
im not sure how this ultimatly fits into a 'Holy solo' set. but sometimes you need to work around what you're designed for. besides, what happened to the Gladiator Shockadin set?
Quote:
what happened to the Gladiator Shockadin set?
You mean the 'Lamellar' version or equivalent of S1 gear (or Ornamented for that matter)? By the time I can use it, healing/spell damage itemization from instance drops opens back up. Its levels 62-68 I'm concerned with for now. Two thirds of the gear in that level range got hit with the Ret stick. Thats a long time to be rockin' the Gilded Crimson Breastplate.
Recent Visitors: 88
All times are in CST
Anonymous Guests (88)
- Forums
- World of Warcraft
- Class Discussion
- +Heal/Dmg Replaced w/ Str... (/vent)
© 2024 Fanbyte LLC