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Many Ferals despaired at Bornakk’s recent statement that Ferals won’t see many spec improvements in Patch 2.3:
[...]I wanted to chime in and say that we don’t have any changes planned for Feral Druids. Druids are a very strong class right now with a lot of options and we want to see how all the other changes play out before making further changes to this area of them. We are keeping an eye out on things though and will make changes in the future as appropriate.
Good news for our furry (and feathered) brethren, however, as some Feral-related changes were announced by Bornakk today.
- We are currently planning to make a Feral-focused set available in season 3.
- The idea is to make this set have no plus to healing on it and be focused on Feral statistics. Things could still change though.
- We are still finalizing details on PvP and PvE items, so a lot of things can still change and I don’t know about new Druid specific tanking gear yet. On a related note, for items that grant attack power in Cat, Bear, Dire Bear, and Moonkin forms, in general we are planning to increase the amount of attack power they give.
While perhaps not as exciting a boon as the improvements to Intensity or the reduction of the cooldown of Rebirth, this could still be an outstanding boon to Ferals and should hopefully help reduce the sting that Bornakk’s original comment left.
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“…and should hopefully help reduce the sting that Bornakk’s original comment left.”
There was no sting. We ARE a strong class/spec, and really don’t need any additional perks right now. =)
I believe that many Feral-specced Arena players might disagree. =)
I guess I look at it somewhat through the eyes of a game designer. In a past life I was an IMP on a fairly large MUD, and the main issue that ALWAYS came up was class balance. It is impossible to satisfy the masses.
One thing I love about WoW is that all the classes are very nicely balanced, with a few exceptions. (Enhancement Shammies and Ret Pallies are two)
That’s not to say that every class is awesome at every aspect of the game – but on the whole you can pick up a class an have a reasonable chance of succeeding if you apply a little bit of thoughtfulness and planning.
It drives me bonkers how so many players of multiplayer class-based games ALWAYS complain that their chosen class sucks, or is too weak in some area, and always want more more more. They usually completely overlook what their class excels at, and want every little weakness to vanish.
Bah – maybe I’m too old and cranky for this sort of thing, but I really wish that all players stopped and considered the big picture from time to time.
Unfortunately, anyone who has levelled a Druid to 70 has likely invested a great deal of time. And those players who enjoy PvP and decided to roll Druids were probably most attracted to the Feral aspect of the class (remember that Healing was not really a glorified role in competitive PvP prior to the Arena system). Unlike other “pure” classes – or even other “hybrid” classes like the Holy/Shadow Priest – switching talent specializations for a Druid is basically like changing your role altogether. While the transition between Restoration and Balance might not be as noticeable (strong synergy between the two, still casting the same spells as before), switching from Feral to either one of the other trees is more akin to a Rogue changing to a Priest or a Rogue changing to a Mage. So I think it’s understandable that many Feral Druids be up in arms about this aspect of their class suddenly becoming no longer viable (Feral used to be the PvP spec).
As players, our game experience is in constant flux – it’s part of the EULA we all agree to before logging in. But while Blizzard maintains control over our characters and their strengths and weaknesses, we as players have every right and reason to express our displeasure at things which make us unhappy. We are, after all, paying customers. To be perfectly complacent with where you are as a class seems counter ot human – and elven – nature.
I won’t argue that Feral is a strong spec, I will however argue that feral itemization is horrible and borderline non-existent. Great, my arena gear has healing on it…too bad I only shift out long enough to hit another form.
Tank itemization is probably the worst. Some arena/pvp gear is the best available for tanking and there are no real alternatives to the Heavy Cleft (the chest piece especially so) until heavy 25 man raiding. That’s also not mentioning that the best tanking idol is a 60 blue or a 63 green.
HotW will change from +20% strength in kitty form to +10% AP. This is a pretty significant change to improve feral itemization without having to actually add new items (some ppl look at it as a cop out). It does further reduce the effectiveness of Nurturing Instincts mind you.
Related blue post here (seems to only be on EU forums):
http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=1152956498&postId=11552515559&sid=1#6
-Kalaghan, Nathrezim
“But while Blizzard maintains control over our characters and their strengths and weaknesses, we as players have every right and reason to express our displeasure at things which make us unhappy. We are, after all, paying customers.”
If only that was all that was done. Sure, we’re all allowed to express our pleasure and displeasure with the state of our class, and yes we’re paying customers – but it goes far beyond that.
Try to find a class/spec that someone is not whining long, loud, and hard about. And not only whining – demanding, often insultingly, that something be done to fix it. (No matter how amazingly balanced that class/spec may actually be.)
Beyond that, it’s utterly ludicrous to expect – like some players do – Blizzard to fix their classes in the manner that they would like. Would you phone up Squaresoft and complain when the next installment of Final Fantasy comes out, and your favourite class/character is weaker than you’d like? Probably not. So why is this acceptable/encouraged behavior for a game like WoW?
Now I know you’re not condoning all of the jerks out there that go utterly bonkers on the forums – you’re far too civil to side with the likes of them.
However, even the people who calmly argue that their class ought to be buffed are usually falling into the same pit trap as their less rational counterparts. They want the class to jive with their mental image of how it should function, not necessarily that of the game designers…. and too often, they don’t keep the bigger picture of overall class balance in mind.