So are we to believe that the pally’s light spells are going to be inherently buffed, and blizz thinks that lifebloom is too powerful?

First off – blizzard has confirmed that crushing blows are going away for raiders. It’s been moved so that they only happen with 4+ mobs, not with 3+ mobs. If you care, I’ll see if I can find the relevant blue post.

What’s odd is the disconnect I see on Blizzard’s part in terms of where tanking is now. Right now, the only reason ferals aren’t tanking more is because they suck less when not tanking compared to warriors and paladins, and it’s usually easier to have the druid switch. Yeah, the bosses that a druid can tank the best in BT are limited to only a couple, but in Sunwell? Brutallus is great with a druid, Muru is great with one, Eredar is great, KJ is great with a druid in cat gear tanking thanks to their huge HP pool and silly damage output. Druids have a clear place as the optimal tank in a number of encounters there, easily as many as a warrior or a paladin does. Even more importantly, there’s no fight where a druid couldn’t tank. Maybe not as easily as a warrior, but nothing mechanically impossible.

Blizzard seems to think that there’s something wrong with druids mechanically. I’m very confused by this.

Kals last blog post..[Druid] What a feral wants from WotLK

By the way, when are they going to let beta users level past 77 anyway?

As far as tanks go, it’s going to be the same game as always. For most fights, any tank will do, but for some fights, a specific tank will be better suited to the task. Does our inability to mitigate crushing blows render us incapable of tanking Prince, who is capable of dealing three consecutive crushing blows? You and I both know the answer. It won’t be any different in the future, and I suspect the armor lost from clothing will be gained in weaponry and retained in jewelry. Even if there is no more leather with high armor values, We will always have 2 rings and a cloak that will grant us an extra 2000+ armor per slot. Not to mention, 2-handers have much better stats than 1-hander/shield combinations, so a 2-hander that gives us 5000+ armor (very likely at the epic level) will certainly offer more protection and durability than a Warrior’s or Paladin’s Sword and Shield combo.

Really I think if we can be a viable tank without hitting the armor cap, that would be a good thing. As it stands right now, Bear Druids seem to stall out at T5 because a Druid in T4 + badges can get 20k health and be armor capped. (Case in point: me) There’s not much room for improvement after that. If they manage to keep Bears relevant as potential Main Tanks into T9 content, I would be very thrilled.

Myzes last blog post..Feral in the Future