Some definite hits and misses in my first impressions of the latest patch to hit the test servers.
Lets start with the great stuff:
-Item appearances can now be set seperately from the item. Not really sure if this will be tomb unlock driven as I posted, but either way, thumbs up!
-Zealot changes: An ancestors echo added, a way to flip to some damage occasionally and temporarily + more. Excellent stuff and both of those are items I have pushed hard for.
-Stuff to farm for exp in the lakes, bringing more people there. Excellent idea!
Now on to some negatives
-Quitter debuff just stops you from requeueing to scenerios, it is losing its overall effect of reducing renown/exp. This could mean more people bailing from scens, leaving people in horrible scenerio instances.
-No more tovl leveling before level 32. Not sure how I feel on this one. Hopefully the stuff in the lakes makes this irrelevant, but then if all your friends are higher level, they cant really help you catch up in a lake. Could bring back a disconnect between people trying to jump in with some friends.
-Now for the biggest negative. Plans are to nerf the 5pc tyrant buff that gives 50% faster cast speed. For me, this is kind of a deal breaker. I have a long history (check ideas forum) of posting that pvp gear needs to be better or at least on track with PvE obtained gear. This is especially true from a healer perspective where you simply cant outfit to your full potential without doing a crap ton of PvE. I played their game. I didn’t ask for a 5 pc bonus that changes the zealot class to something a lot more fun to be put in a frustrating as hell and INCREDIBLY time consuming dungeon like TOVL, but I went with what Mythic designed and put in to be a good bonus for those that put in the effort and time. To nerf it now just shows that they do not know how to make pvp gear attractive, so instead they make the Tyrant set less attractive and in essence piss on people that sacrificed a lot of time and effort to get it. Anyone that thinks I enjoyed 1 minute in TOVL and wouldn’t have rather been doing pvp for my gear is sorely mistaken. This is going to be a bitter change for me if it doesn’t get handled properly and overturned, at least for healers. I realize Mythic’s -choice- to change close quarters now puts this buff in conflict with it for RDPS classes. Honestly, that is something they should figure out seperate from healers.
Full Notes: http://herald.warhammeronline.com/patchnotes/index.php?id=2010_1-3-6
Charlotte
July 22, 2010 at 1:52 pm
I don’t think the item appearance is tome unlock driven since the patch notes says you must drag and drop the piece of equipment for an item to take on its appearance.
Tyanon
July 22, 2010 at 2:26 pm
Interesting, I guess that was the easiest way to implement it. Not quite as good as I hoped but will take anything. Guess people gotta re-collect all the sets they destroyed from lower levels.
RanknVile
July 23, 2010 at 5:14 am
I have already been collecting gear and storing it since I started my PvE runs. There is some really good looking stuff too.
They state you click a check box and then drag the gear you want to that slot to wear it. Should be cool.
As to LoTD being cut off until level 32, I 100% approve of that move. My hopes are some changes to XP gain in the PvE areas around T2 and T3 take place to alleviate the loss of the power level…but, in all honesty, T2 and T3 will improve markedly in the lakes, in my opinion.
Cheers
Rikker
July 23, 2010 at 6:11 am
I haven’t read through exactly how the zealot mechanic will work, but I personally fear that, for zealots, this will be the worst change of the patch.
I can’t speak for everyone, but I use the Harbinger as a corp. debuff, if nothing else. I will be sad if it is the “switch”, so now it becomes useless to me.
Zealots, IMO, had some of their strength in the fact that they could heal all they wanted, and when they tossed out that little bit of DPS to add to the fight, it came out full strength. Now, being forced to make a choice, I fear that they will lose some versatility for no gain. (Honestly? DPS zealots?)
Heirophant’s Grace nerf sucks, but I care less about that (it’s good, but I don’t think it’s as big of a deal for Zealots as it is for other healing classes due to the Zealot’s mobility).
I predict a big mess coming in this patch, and I hope it gets taken care of.
Tyanon
July 23, 2010 at 7:33 am
@Rikker: we will have to see, but I am not sure what you mean by tossing out full power dps. My dot ticks for like 35, and my nuke hits for 100-200 in healing gear. Now, I will have a choice to flip into a mode for as little as a few seconds and do some actual damage.
Beyond that, healing zealots are getting a pretty huge boost with the 2 new tactics and a little increased heal power just for being in the same healing gear they wear pre-patch..
I tested the warping the spirit tactic last night. It procs off hot ticks and gives the person 1050 armour and 10% less armour penetration when being hit.
The ancestors echo mirror is even more awesome.
After the patch, I will be trying out: BOC/Resto Burst/Warping the Spirit/Grip
Rikker
July 23, 2010 at 8:28 am
Hmm… I either misunderstood then, or I just haven’t kept up with the new changes. I’ll have to do a full read-through I suppose.
I didn’t see the Ancestor’s echo mirror or the new tactics… I defintely haven’t been paying enough attention! My bad.