World of Warcraft + Nerf = Wtfpwn?

Now it was bound to happen that a review (or several from other people) would be posted about World of Warcraft’s upcoming 5.3 patch. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really not the type of person to complain about things… especially when I record several hours a day playing the game. But there are a few things that really bug me about the next patch.

Paladins

First and foremost.. Blizzard still doesn’t seem to know what to do with the Paladin Class. Protection Spec’d Paladins still remain relatively unchanged, but they have a substantial amount of functionality that is simply sitting dormant due to mechanics of the game not permitting them to perform to their full potential.

Instead, they’re focusing on nerfing the other two specs; Holy and Retribution. Lowering the amount of healing done, as well as the damage that’s mitigated by certain abilities. This is basically making it easier to kill party members and the Paladins themselves. I’m not sure why this would be considered a good thing. Currently, I have a Level 90 Windwalker Monk, but I’ve always played a Paladin on and off since the initial release of World of Warcraft nearly 9 years ago. These changes are a bit disheartening to me. And as stated above.. still nothing is being done about Protection Paladins. Speaking of Monks..

Monks

Monks are already overpowered as is. This recent patch is going to make them even more overpowered, by reducing costs of abilities, increasing effects, and making them more functional overall. “But this is a good thing, don’t you think?” is what some people say. “Why are you complaining about it, when it’s helping your class?” is what others would say. Well, I’ll tell you why. We’re overpowered. People can gripe and complain that we don’t have any decent PvP gear, or we can only use Leather armor instead of Mail or Plate.

That’s all fine and good.. but I like balance. I like people having an equal chance to perform on par with everyone else. I’ve spent nearly the entirety of my time as level 90 (nearly three weeks) trying to get myself geared out. Grinding, doing random dungeons, doing Looking for Raid, running scenarios, doing dailies for reputation with certain factions, and a mix of all of the above. Unless you’re a Death Knight, or a twinked Paladin or Warrior.. Monks will perform better, due to their versatility. This needs to change. The game needs to be more balanced.

It seems that every time Blizzard releases a new patch, they show favor towards their new “pet project”. In this case, it would be the Monk Class, which just dropped with the release of the Mists of Pandaria Expansion not too long ago. Enough is enough. Seriously, balance out the classes, and make them more immersive for everyone to get involved in. People will always have their favorite classes, or races or what have you.. but that doesn’t mean that Blizzard should make certain classes be more appealing than others. They should all have their own flare and luster, making them all interesting to play.

Hunters

Hunter is another class that’s getting somewhat nerfed. Their stable of tamable pets has increased from 20 to 50, so that lets people playing Hunters go around and tame more pets than before. Especially helpful if you’re trying to track down those elusive rares. But then you’re going to make Scatter Shot share diminishing returns with Freezing Trap and Wyvern Sting? This just doesn’t make sense. At all. Hunters CC. They always have. That’s a core foundation of the Hunter Class. Now, Blizzard seems to have forgotten that, and made it a bit harder for Hunters to do what they’re supposed to do.

In Conclusion

There’s several other things of note on the official post released by Blizzard in regards to t he 5.3 patch, so feel free to head on over and take a gander yourselves. These are just my thoughts on the matter. They seem to be ignoring what made World of Warcraft so popular in the first place, and focusing on the trivialities of the matter. They’re putting substantially more in to Battle Pets than they are the classes. Battle Pets are fun and all.. but, seriously? They’re not going to satisfy that MMO craving of competitive gaming that most people have.

Apologies if these seems to be nothing more than a rant bashing the upcoming patch. I assure you, that is not the case… but I figured I would share my personal thoughts on the matter, and bring some of the problems to the front lines, and make them known. That’s all for this posting. See you guys and gals next time.