Not quite. The lvl 90 version we get today is not the whole thing, it's just a limited sneak preview of what the WoD revamp will be. It does go all the way to the end with the final boss being Warlord Zaela, the Orc that was riding Galakris in SoO.Let me understand, because we euros can't see shit till tomorrow: they did a UBRS revamp and stopped to rend's arena instead of going to Drakkisath? Did they seal off the LBRS part with the usual lame closed door?
If they left that untouched it would be incredibly OP in pvp considering burst crits are going from 150kish all the way down to 20-40kish in actual gladiator gear.I still can't believe how grossly they fucked over Second Wind. That shit was my staple for doing old content. Essence of Souls and Vash'jr are going to wreck me.
I think this is a little binary.. while I agree in principle that the "580 ilvl min flex Garrosh" is in some ways a result of the LFR faceroll world that we live in now, I also think it's significantly exacerbated by the ilvl power scaling present in MoP.That is *not* what the game has become.
That is what pubbie groups, LFR, and other "the least amount of effort to see content" has become. And it's because everyone there, including you if you're in it, wants. No effort, just want to smash content and see drops. You don't want to spend effort learning a fight, working with a group, just a simple metric for pass/fail, and move on.
If you don't want to deal with the stupid shit like "your ilevel must be twice as high as the gear that drops here", you join a raiding guild. Sure, there's still the odd guild out there that'll only focus on ilevel, but most will look at the entire picture - why did you die, why did we die, if we did die, who is doing poorly on meters, then see if their ilevel is the problem (or is their rotation bad, etc).
Note that I'm actually not bashing LFR or shitty pubbie groups. That's what I'm living right now. I just accept it for what it is, because that's the entire point of it. If I want to get more serious, I'll rejoin a raiding guild (but with a baby due in a month, not gonna bother, hah).
Yep, there's two things to be annoyed at here. People are wasting their breath complaining about the first, when the second is the only issue with a real solution.I think this is a little binary.. while I agree in principle that the "580 ilvl min flex Garrosh" is in some ways a result of the LFR faceroll world that we live in now, I also think it's significantly exacerbated by the ilvl power scaling present in MoP.
I remember in Wrath the obsession with the Gearscore app and pugging Naxx-25 and Ulduar-25. There was a similar effect on the community requiring occasionally hilarious gearscores for an invite, but the balance in general was much more flexible and skilled, less geared players could keep up or surpass those with an ilvl advantage in a way that just doesn't seem possible now.
Nowadays with my rogue at 555, a raid lead is actively sacrificing a ton of potential dps by not holding out for a 565. Should a 565 outdps me? Of course! Should it be by 30-40%? Fuck no, that's what gets us into this situation in the first place. But as Qhue points out, it's a great retention mechanic for subscriptions at the high end, so it's hard to know if Blizzard feels it's a problem or is implicitly OK with the results.
Armory is all wonky right now. All my items show squished stats but my HP is still listed at over a million. Wait and see!I wonder how long it will take them when the servers go up to realize they forgot to squish timeless secondary stats.
Looking at my characters armory (shows updated squished stats on items) and his timeless ring's stats =
Warmsun ring of the Windstorm
39agi
55sta
261 expertise
653 crit
392 mastery
some of the old equipment is hilariously squished though:
Thunderfury is 1-30 damage with +5 agi.. yaay!?
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We'll see if it's just an armory error though lol
Yup, agree on all points. I find the scaling frustrating but recognize that's mostly because it dampens my playstyle since Wrath - play at my leisure, PUG raids when it's convenient, and beat what content I can without needing a raiding guild. But it wouldn't surprise me if it's better for the game overall to have that scaling - better retention for hardcore players, more power increase when you get loot, etc.Yep, there's two things to be annoyed at here. People are wasting their breath complaining about the first, when the second is the only issue with a real solution.
1. People demand outrageous ilvl for pub raids. No shit. They don't know you. The only aspect of your play they can control is your gear. They want to get shit done even if half the raid are mouthbreathers who couldn't move out of a void zone if their IRL life was on the line. There's a near infinite number of players wanting to join raids. Why the hell would they NOT demand outrageous ilvl. There's nothing to be gained from bringing in an appropriately geared stranger for the content, when there are 10 overgeared DPS begging to get in. People complain to no end about this, but it will never change.
2. Player power increases by ridiculous amounts as item level increases.Noxxicis very theoretical and inaccurate, but it's a useful yard stick for ilvl power. The median 496ilvl DPS is 110k. The median 528ilvl DPS is 200k. The median 553ilvl DPS is 280k. The median BiS (~590ilvl) DPS is 450k. A BiS geared player does ~125% more DPS than an optimized LFR geared player! He could literally AFK half the fight and still beat the LFR player on damage! This is a design issue which Blizzard reallycouldreign in if they wanted less segregation in the player base. That said, now that everyone can see the same content anyway, maybe it's good for the health of the game to keep the carrot meaningful. Most raiders stopped playing their main at 25-50% BiS back in the day, because raiding for 30 weeks to get a 10% DPS upgrade was really fucking boring.
Good point! The gear scaling has always been pretty dumb even within an expansion, but MOP set new records.I think this is a little binary.. while I agree in principle that the "580 ilvl min flex Garrosh" is in some ways a result of the LFR faceroll world that we live in now, I also think it's significantly exacerbated by the ilvl power scaling present in MoP.
I remember in Wrath the obsession with the Gearscore app and pugging Naxx-25 and Ulduar-25. There was a similar effect on the community requiring occasionally hilarious gearscores for an invite, but the balance in general was much more flexible and skilled, less geared players could keep up or surpass those with an ilvl advantage in a way that just doesn't seem possible now.
Nowadays with my rogue at 555, a raid lead is actively sacrificing a ton of potential dps by not holding out for a 565. Should a 565 outdps me? Of course! Should it be by 30-40%? Fuck no, that's what gets us into this situation in the first place. But as Qhue points out, it's a great retention mechanic for subscriptions at the high end, so it's hard to know if Blizzard feels it's a problem or is implicitly OK with the results.
I'm guessing the new 30 person cap for sub-mythic raiding is to allow more gradual scaling but we'll see.I hope WOD does a better job with scaling mechanics so norm/heroic isn't just another name for "14 man maximum"
Invite me on your runs if you have spots. I'll try to be less-bad.Yup, agree on all points. I find the scaling frustrating but recognize that's mostly because it dampens my playstyle since Wrath - play at my leisure, PUG raids when it's convenient, and beat what content I can without needing a raiding guild. But it wouldn't surprise me if it's better for the game overall to have that scaling - better retention for hardcore players, more power increase when you get loot, etc.
Think I'll be happy running "Flex" in WoD, though I'm curious to see if they keep the petri dish that is AOTC-style achievements exclusive to Heroic/Mythic with mounts attached to them given that Flex is "the new normal".
Pretty sure the "14 man max" mechanics have been made away with at some point over the last year. Encounters now add a fractional chance of another marginal "Bad Thing Happening" when you add a player. Adding one more player on Protectors will give you a 20% chance to get an additional Bane dot per cast, etc. There are no hard break points anymore (except where randomization would just be a PITA, like Sha of Pride prisons, but in that case the break point is 18).I hope WOD does a better job with scaling mechanics so norm/heroic isn't just another name for "14 man maximum"
Know how I know you don't do flex pugs? Heh. People lose their goddamn minds if you dare to go over 14 man. That extra malk puddle or Garrosh charm is a goddamn disaster.Pretty sure the "14 man max" mechanics have been made away with at some point over the last year. Encounters now add a fractional chance of another marginal "Bad Thing Happening" when you add a player. Adding one more player on Protectors will give you a 20% chance to get an additional Bane dot per cast, etc. There are no hard break points anymore (except where randomization would just be a PITA, like Sha of Pride prisons, but in that case the break point is 18).
Flex 25 garrosh on Sunday night man!Know how I know you don't do flex pugs? Heh. People lose their goddamn minds if you dare to go over 14 man. That extra malk puddle or Garrosh charm is a goddamn disaster.
The funniest one though is flex 2. I can't think of a single meaningful mechanic in that wing that changes based on # of players. But it's the same shit. Every raid, 14 man. It pretty much defeats the entire goddamn purpose of flex raids. People just don't get it - they'll be like "OMG adding another dps adds 50 mil hp!" Yeah, so? Unless he's afk at the zoneline, I mean...